Glenn Close was like a "little puppy" on the set of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, according to director Rian Johnson.

The 51-year-old filmmaker feared that he could be "intimidated" by the Fatal Attraction actress during the making of the third movie in the murder-mystery franchise but ended up being thrilled by the infectious enthusiasm she brought to her portrayal of Martha Delacroix.

Rian told People: "When she shows up on set though, she's not jaded. She's not like an elder statesman. She is like a little puppy that is so excited to do the work."

The Star Wars: The Last Jedi director recalled how Glenn, 78, remained on set to observe a scene with Daniel Craig and Josh O'Connor, despite her work for the day being complete.

Johnson said: "I remember one day we wrapped her early. And I started shooting a scene with Josh and Daniel. And we were in there blocking the scene and I was backing up and I ran into someone and it was Glenn in her street clothes in the corner.

"And she had just stuck around. She could have gone home. She has stuck around to watch because she's like, 'I just want to watch these two actors and see how they approached this scene.' And that's Glenn Close."

Meanwhile, Glenn recalled how there was "lots of laughing" on the set of the movie - which sees Craig return as the brilliant sleuth Benoit Blanc.

The 101 Dalmatians star told Variety: "There'd be a table of tea, coffee and some weird English candy.

"Jeremy Renner had a special chair because he was recovering from his (snowplough) accident. Andrew Scott, who was doing another movie at the time and was tired, would nap. And I would play backgammon with Mila Kunis or Josh O'Connor. There was lots of laughing."

Rian has insisted that nobody other than himself will ever direct a Knives Out film.

In an interview with Variety, he said: "I don't see it as IP. Each Knives Out film is something I want to make. If that stops being the case, we won't do another one."

Johnson explained that he is not interested in "milking" the whodunnit series and will only make new Knives Out movies if he has the right story to tell.

He said: "It's not about milking a franchise. It's about making something good again. The rest is noise."

The Looper filmmaker has also said he is not interested in making a Knives Out prequel because he doesn't want to "step outside" of Benoit Blanc's story.

Rian told Deadline: "For me, I feel Benoit Blanc, he's the detective, and his job in these things is to solve the crime.

"And I kinda don't wanna step outside that to a flashback or anything explaining why he became a detective or something. I feel like, what's interesting is seeing how he engages.

"But we do learn quite a bit about him through seeing his process and through seeing his relationship with the main people. And in this one, I think you get a real glimpse into a certain part of his soul."