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Wake Up Dead Man To Open BFI London Film Festival Plus A New Image

Rian Johnson's next Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man, will open the BFI London Film Festival on October 8th.

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Article Summary

  • Wake Up Dead Man will open the 2025 BFI London Film Festival on October 8 at the Royal Festival Hall.
  • Rian Johnson returns to direct the next Benoit Blanc whodunnit, streaming on Netflix December 12, 2025.
  • Production on the new Knives Out film wrapped in mid-August, with a theatrical run expected in November.
  • Anticipation grows for the latest Knives Out mystery, with awards buzz likely following its festival debut.

It seems we finally know when Wake Up Dead Man is [likely] going to be its first big screen appearance. The next entry in Rian Johnson's Benoit Blanc series of mystery films is set to stream on Netflix in December with some sort of theatrical release in November, but we didn't know anything else besides that. Considering the release date and the amount of award attention these films tend to get, it wouldn't be surprising to see Wake Up Dead Man turn up at the Venice or Toronto Film Festivals. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is making an appearance at the BFI London Film Festival on October 8th at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall. It is the opener for the film festival, and with the announcement, we got another new image as well.

A dramatic scene from the film 'Wake Up Dead Man' featuring two men inside a car. One man, seated in the driver's seat, looks intense and focused, while the other man leans in from the back seat, appearing tense and eager.
Wake Up Dead Man, (L-R) Josh O'Connor and Daniel Craig in Wake Up Dead Man. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2025

The only summary we have for Wake Up Dead Man is: "Benoit Blanc returns for his most dangerous case yet." The cast list underneath the date announcement says, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the newest Benoit Blanc whodunnit from writer and director Rian Johnson, starring Daniel Craig, Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church. Wake Up Dead Man will stream on Netflix on December 12th, 2025.

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 Man: 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."

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Kaitlyn BoothAbout Kaitlyn Booth

Kaitlyn is the Editor-in-Chief at Bleeding Cool. Film critic and pop culture writer since 2013. Ace. Leftist. Nerd. Feminist. Writer. Replicant Translator. Cinephillic Virtue Signaler. She/Her. UFCA/GALECA Member. 🍅 Approved. Follow her Threads, Instagram, and Twitter @katiesmovies.
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