Rian Johnson Says Glass Onion Mirroring Elon Musk’s Twitter Downfall Was A ‘Horrible, Horrible Accident’

I think the cultural accuracy of the characters in “Glass Onion” goes to show how attuned Johnson is to the very stupid times we live in. “It’s so weird. It’s very bizarre,” he said.

He’s right on the money talking about Miles as an amalgamation of reckless tech billionaires, as the character’s DNA is built upon the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Elizabeth Holmes, with Musk’s idiocy thrown in for good measure. In many ways, Johnson has created the ultimate pastiche. Miles surrounds himself with folks like Duke (Dave Bautista), a dim-witted men’s rights activist streamer, in addition to Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), a vapid supermodel influencer with a penchant for tweeting out racial and ethnic slurs.

The boom of negligent tech billionaires used to have Zuckerberg under the microscope, but everything Musk has been doing lately has all but stolen the spotlight. Norton brilliantly portrays the fragile ego of this kind of public figure crumbling at the slightest bit of criticism. As the mystery of “Glass Onion” unfolds, so does the collapse of Miles’ frail empire.

Miles has no solid ground to stand on, so he buys his loyalty instead. Akin to the Glass Onion itself, the lack of integrity is hidden in plain sight. The finale portrays Miles as a petulant child who is way too easily rattled when he doesn’t get his way. Johnson may not have intended for Norton’s character to directly parallel Musk, but the correspondence is uncanny, especially when it comes to releasing a new product with potentially catastrophic consequences.

“Glass Onion” is currently streaming on Netflix.