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Wake Up Dead Man: A Different Tone, But It's Still A Knives Out Film

Director Rian Johnson says Wake Up Dead Man is "different from Glass Onion, but in the same way that Glass Onion was different from Knives Out."

We haven't learned much about the third Knives Out film, but it's not due to come out until the fall, so that isn't that surprising. Watching this new version of the whodunit slowly come to life in such an organic way has been great. It was clear from the first film that director and writer Rian Johnson didn't go into it with a franchise in mind, that came after the success of the first film, and maybe that is part of the reason the sequel and this third film, Wake Up Dead Man, feel so refreshing. We so rarely get to see series form organically like this. Another big modern-day example would be John Wick, and it says a lot that both of these started at Lionsgate. Wick is still at Lionsgate, but the Knives Out films went to Netflix for a two-picture deal, and there is no word on what happens after this third film is released.

Johnson is currently making the rounds for the second season of Poker Face and was asked by The Hollywood Reporter what makes Wake Up Dead Man different from the previous films. Johnson replied, "It's different from Glass Onion, but in the same way that Glass Onion was different from Knives Out. For me, and this is one of the pleasures of Agatha Christie's books, it's a totally different swing and tone every time. And so this one is, you know, it's still a Knives Out movie, it's still hopefully got all the stuff that makes those movies fun, but it is a different tone, and it's something I'm excited for audiences to see. I hope they're into it."

The other awesome thing about this genre is that you really only need one returning player in front of the camera, so as long as Daniel Craig is down, we could get more of these films after Wake Up Dead Man is released. However, with the amount of noise Johnson is making about wanting these films in theaters, maybe he'll look elsewhere for the next couple of entries. Lionsgate could use a winner again.

Wake Up Dead Man Features Another Impressive Cast

We knew that a Knives Out film would be coming out on Netflix for a while, and we learned in May 2024 that the film, titled Wake Up Dead Nan: A Knives Out Mystery, would be going into production. However, aside from that, we knew very little until May. Director and writer Rian Johnson took the time to his official X/Twitter to share the logo and official title of the film. They are still keeping that "A Knives Out Mystery" part even though Johnson has said that he doesn't like it, and he revealed that they were "very close" to entering production. In mid-August, Johnson confirmed that production on the new Knives Out film had wrapped.

Johnson said during the announcement, "I love everything about whodunnits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is. 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." So far, new cast members include Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church, with Daniel Craig reprising his role. Wake Up Dead Man will be released sometime in fall 2025.

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