Can I get an amen? The game is afoot again, sleuths!
Today, Netflix revealed the first look (and therefore the first potential clue) at the upcoming Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. The photo below features Daniel Craig, once more reprising the role of detective Benoit Blanc (bonkers Cajun accent and all), and franchise newcomer/possible suspect Josh O’Connor in a church. With stained glass behind them, the two stand between dark wooden pews, peering at something (or someone) just out of frame.
So far, details on the third Knives Out film from writer-director Rian Johnson have been scant, besides word of its release on Netflix sometime this fall. A logline for the film simply states: “Benoit Blanc returns for his most dangerous case yet.” But in a previous post on social media, Johnson teased, “We’re about to go into production on the 3rd one, and I’m very, very excited to share the title, which gives a little hint of where it’s going.”
Each of the past films’ titles, taken from popular rock songs, has contained clues to the direction of the story. In this case, Wake Up Dead Man shares its title with a song by U2 from their 1997 album Pop. In the song, Bono makes an emotional plea for Jesus to return and save humanity from itself. There’s even some hint of yearning for an apocalyptic event to give the world a do-over.
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Furthering the religious theme, the video announcing the film’s title used a Gothic Blackletter typeface commonly found in Bibles from the 16th and 17th centuries. The clip also showcased a coffin in its imagery, and the final sound heard was the tolling of a church bell. Given these clues, it’s not entirely surprising that today’s first look takes place in a church.
As far as suspects go, Netflix has revealed that the mystery will feature this murderers’ row of stars: Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.
Johnson’s trilogy of whodunits began with the starry 2019 box office hit Knives Out, which first introduced Benoit Blanc as he sought to solve the murder of renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). Following its success, Netflix struck a massive deal north of $400 million to develop sequels. Glass Onion (2022) then brought the investigator to the private island of tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton), where someone at their murder-mystery party wound up dead.