Something is most definitely afoot in the Knives Out universe. Not a murder, though – at least, not just yet. Far more exciting than that, writer and director Rian Johnson has confirmed via social media that the title of the next Benoit Blanc movie, which sees Daniel Craig return as the dapper, drawling detective, will be Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
Johnson’s announcement came via a short teaser video, which includes a voiceover by Craig, in character as Blanc, reminding us of the movies so far. He says “In the beginning, the knives came out. Then behold, the glass was shattered. But my most dangerous case yet is about to be revealed.” Cue a shadowy version of a black coffin, before the Wake Up Dead Man title treatment appears. Given the lack of comma in those four words, their meaning is up to interpretation. Is this a plea, to someone recently deceased? Or an instruction to someone else? Does it refer to the 1997 U2 song? Who knows. Have a watch below, and see what you think:
This will be the third in Johnson’s Knives Out series – the first of which starred Ana de Armas, Chris Evans and Jamie Lee Curtis in a tale of a patriarch’s death sending a wealthy family into a tailspin over his inheritance. The sequel, 2022’s Glass Onion, introduced Blanc to a whole new cast of suspects including Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, as old friends reuniting for a getaway on a Greek island that sees one of them kick the bucket. We can expect Wake Up Dead Man to follow the trend, and take Blanc to a brand new location, amongst brand new characters, with a brand new mystery to solve.
There’s no specific release date yet, but the teaser does confirm that we’ll be seeing Wake Up Dead Man in 2025. We’ll see you in the cinema then, doughnuts in hand.