Rian Johnson is once again setting the stage for deception, secrets, and unexpected twists. His third entry in the “Knives Out” franchise, “Wake Up Dead Man,” arrives on Netflix later this year following a theatrical run beginning November 26. Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc, stepping into what Johnson has called the detective’s “most personal journey yet. He’s forced to engage with the case — and with himself — in a way that’s completely new.”
The new mystery takes Blanc to a small hamlet in upstate New York, where a bizarre death inside a church is presented as a miracle. The detective, however, dismisses the façade: “This was dressed as a miracle, it’s just a murder. And I solve murders.” The setting allows Johnson to lean into the gothic atmosphere and themes of faith and forgiveness, steering the franchise into darker, more philosophical territory.
Joining Craig is an ensemble as eclectic as ever: Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church. O’Connor plays Rev. Jud Duplenticy, a young priest dispatched to assist Brolin’s Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, who becomes central to the unraveling mystery. As Johnson notes, “The secret to each one of these movies is that Benoit Blanc is not the main character… Josh’s character Jud is that character in this movie.”
Craig has praised Johnson’s signature sleight of hand with the genre, remarking, “What Rian’s movies do best is subvert the genre. You start off thinking you’re watching an old-fashioned Agatha Christie-type mystery — but then it shifts, and you realize you’re watching something entirely different.” That blend of homage and reinvention has defined the series, and early word suggests this entry may be its boldest yet.
In its TIFF world premiere, critics highlighted how Johnson sharpens the franchise’s thematic edge. The Playlist’s review called the film “packed with even more delicious twists and turns than the previous two” and noted how its spiritual undercurrents give it a weightier emotional dimension while retaining Johnson’s wit and playful construction.
Produced by Johnson alongside Ram Bergman, Katie McNeill, and Leopold Hughes, “Wake Up Dead Man” premieres at TIFF on September 6 before screening at the BFI London Film Festival on October 8. After a theatrical run beginning November 26, the film will hit Netflix worldwide on December 12.
