Dave Bautista: Knives Out 2 will be better than original

Dave Bautista has predicted that 'Knives Out 2' will be even better than the original.

The 52-year-old actor will star in Rian Johnson's murder mystery sequel and has suggested that the Netflix movie will raise the bar with its "colourful" characters and thrilling story.

Dave told PEOPLE: "I really think it's going to be as good, if not better, than the first one. I'm always afraid to say that because I don't want anybody to get offended saying that we're going to be better, but I really do think this.

"I think the characters are just so much more colourful. I think people are really going to dig this."

The former WWE star will be joined in the upcoming movie by the returning Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc and new stars Edward Norton, Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom Jr. in an all-star cast and Dave revealed that his co-stars have left him "mesmerised".

He explained: "The characters are just so great. They're so different.

"Everybody's cast so well. I was working with a couple of my castmates and was mesmerised by their performances and just how well they've adapted into these characters. I think the characters in this are even more quirky than the first one."

Leslie previously suggested that Rian wants to "up the ante" on the sequel, after the original movie proved to be a critical and commercial success.

The 39-year-old star said: "I might have said too much already, but suspect everyone is what I can tell you.

"It's going to be fun. I think that the first movie... the success was unexpected, the Oscar nomination certainly, and people really took to it. So we want to up the ante and deliver something exciting and surprising for the fans."