Would it be a Benoit Blanc mystery if the movie title wasn’t a pop-rock song? Rian Johnson continues that trend with the name of his latest “Knives Out” mystery. This time, it’s a U2 track: “Wake Up Dead Man,” from the band’s 1997 album Pop.
Johnson and Netflix revealed the title this morning with an unannounced YouTube video, which doesn’t provide much intel on the upcoming movie except a brief voiceover from Daniel Craig as Blanc. “First, the knives came out,” Blanc starts, “then the glass shattered,” in a nod to the climax of Johnson’s 2022 film “Glass Onion,” “but my most dangerous case yet is about to be revealed.” Cue a backlit coffin twisting into a black background, and the new film’s title appears in gothic text. “Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc,” reads a title card before “2025” hits the screen.
So the third “Knives Out” mystery will hit theaters and Netflix sometime next year. That’s about all the new info provided by the streamer in the announcement, although fans already knew that Johnson would write the film’s script and co-produced with his partner Ram Bergman. As for a cast list? Craig is the only confirmed player right now, but given the ensembles of the past two films, expect Johnson to cull a who’s who of Hollywood talent for “Wake Up Dead Man.”
But do the lyrics to the U2 song reveal anything about the upcoming sequel? Not really. The nearly five-minute song isn’t one of the Irish band’s anthems, and Bono’s lyrics suggest some of his usual preoccupations: Christianity, the world being messed up, and an audiophilic take on perceiving reality. However, it’s worth noting that the last two “Knives Out” movies didn’t have a lot of dead men in them. In fact, there are only two: Christopher Plummer‘s Harlan Thrombley from the 2019 film and Dave Bautista‘s Duke Cody in “Glass Onion,” and neither of those characters are likely to get resurrected by Johnson (RIP, Mr. Plummer).
So, no easter eggs here (at least not any apparent ones), just a title drop to drum up hype for Rian Johnson’s next movie. And considering the “Knives Out” movies are one of Netflix’s most popular film series, isn’t that enough? Check out Netflix’s title announcement for “Wake Up Dead Man” below.