‘Wake Up Dead Man’: Everything We Know About ‘Knives Out 3’
Written by Rtradio on May 28, 2024
At this point, it’s easy to imagine that writer-director Rian Johnson creates some sort of Thanos-type gauntlet for each installment of the Knives Out franchise — assembling as many talented A-list performers as he can to join Daniel Craig’s Detective Benoit Blanc in his newest, twist-packed mystery.
Johnson and Netflix announced the third installment in the fun franchise in May 2024, sharing little more than the title: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. The new film follows the original Knives Out — released in 2019 — as well as 2022’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
“I love everything about whodunits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is,” the director shared on social media before announcing the threequel’s title. “There’s a whole tonal spectrum from Carr to Christie, and getting to explore that range is one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies.”
Casting information started to roll in after the film’s announcement, with Craig to be joined by stars like Josh O’Connor (The Crown, Challengers), Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla, Civil War) and Andrew Scott (Fleabag, Ripley).
Read on to see everything we know about Benoit Blanc’s latest mystery.
CAST
Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc
The only constant main character throughout the first two Knives Out films has been Detective Benoit Blanc, Craig’s deep-thinking, country-fried detective, who gets his answers — and his killers — even when it seems like all is lost.
In January 2023, Johnson teased whether fans could expect to see Hugh Grant return as Craig’s love interest in another Knives Out movie after he appeared in Glass Onion.
“Honestly, you throw a rock in here and you’ll hit somebody that I’d love to have in one of the mystery movies. So, we’ll see,” he told ET at the Moet platform at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards before discussing a potential continuation of the romance between Grant and Craig’s characters. “We’ll see. Look, I should only be so lucky to have Hugh Grant in more mystery movies. We’ll see what happens. Everything is a maybe.”
Josh O’Connor
Fresh off his buzzed-about performance in Challengers — a sharp contrast to his posh period piece roles in The Crown and Emma — it will be interesting to see what kind of character O’Connor steps into in the new Knives Out film, though no details have yet been announced.
Cailee Spaeny
The Priscilla star is another hot young starlet to join the Knives Out franchise after showing her range already in 2024 with her performance in not only Sofia Coppola’s emotional biopic, but also in Alex Garland’s harrowing dystopian thriller, Civil War.
Andrew Scott
OK, he’s not just “Hot Priest” anymore, but it’s hard to look at Scott and not feel blessed by his role in the second season of Fleabag. Since then, however, the Irish actor — who gained early career recognition for his chilling Moriarty on the BBC’s Sherlock — has gone on to starring roles in acclaimed films like All of Us Strangers and TV series like Ripley, leaving the door wide open as to what kind of character he’ll bring to the franchise.
PLOT
Netflix announced Wake Up Dead Man in May 2024, revealing next to nothing about the upcoming film — apart from its title.
The teaser video featured a voiceover from Craig as Benoit, which ominously hinted that the franchise’s third installment might be more harrowing than its predecessors.
“In the beginning, the knives came out. Then behold, the glass was shattered,” Detective Blanc recalls in the brief clip over suspenseful music. “But my most dangerous case yet is about to be revealed.”
PRODUCTION & RELEASE DATES
As of May 2024, casting announcements had just begun, meaning production is in very early stages. However, in Netflix’s announcement, they shared that the plans are currently to release the third Knives Out film in 2025.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery comes to Netflix globally in 2025.
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