Rian Johnson thinks it would be an awesome idea to have The Muppets star in the next Knives Out movie

We could soon be privy to the ultimate murder mystery crossover: a Knives Out Muppets movie.

The idea was initially floated as joke fan theory for future films in the franchise, but according to writer-director Rian Johnson, the idea has legs, or, dare we say, puppet strings.

So how would such a crossover work? Well, it'd see Johnson's titular character Benoit Blanc on the case to solve a murder in a mysterious Muppets universe, except he'd be the only human actor.

Brilliant, right?

Well, Johnson agrees. He's even gone as far as calling it 'a pretty good idea'.

"It's a joke that I thought was pretty brilliant, and I ended up really giving [it] some serious thought," Johnson said, as per Netflix.

But he has some bad news for fans keen to see such a crossover.

"As much as I take the murder mystery genre seriously, I take the genre of a Muppet movie seriously, I think those two things have very different rules," he said.

"You can either have a Benoit Blanc mystery that has Muppets in it, but they'll feel out of place."

He said: "Or you can have a Muppet movie that Benoit Blanc is in, but it'll feel like a Muppet movie."

But Johnson reckons the two great ideas would be too much for one film, meaning one would capitulate to the other to produce a half-baked movie instead of a Muppet-soaked stroke of genius.

"I wouldn't want to compromise either of them," Johnson told Netflix.

"And I feel like in order to make it well and make it work, you'd have to make a choice and compromise one or the other.

"If I ever make a Muppet movie, I just want to make a great Muppet movie."

Rian remained tight-lipped about what the story would be if Blanc were to take on 'The Case of the Muppet Murder'?

"I can’t reveal that," he quipped. "What if I do it someday?"

So, there is still home for a Muppets meet Blanc whodunnit, then.

Consider our fingers, toes, and puppet strings well and truly crossed.

It's not the first time fans of the Muppets have dreamed about a movie crossover.

Other fans floated the idea on Reddit of a Muppets/Disney collaboration, where the only human in the entire movie would be the beast.

And, at the end, when the curse is lifted, the beast turns into a Muppet prince.

We reckon that idea has legs too, and moreover, we reckon the world just needs another Muppet movie.