'Knives Out 3': Everything we know about 'Wake Up Dead Man'
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"Knives Out 3" will reunite us with Daniel Craig's Southern super-sleuth for what's sure to be a thrilling third mystery... and we just got a big progress update about the threequel!
Officially titled "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery", this is the second of two sequels to Rian Johnson's 2019 murder mystery ordered by Netflix. We're big fans of the franchise at Tom's Guide: In our "Glass Onion" review, we called the previous installment "one of the best Netflix movies ever," so it should come as no surprise that we're looking forward to the next chapter, too.
Whilst our writer-director is keeping mum about the plot of "Knives Out 3," we've already learned a fair bit of info about the movie. We know it's coming our way next year, who's in the ensemble, had a first look at Benoit Blanc's new hairdo, and Rian Johnson just revealed that filming has wrapped!
Here's everything we know so far about "Knives Out 3."
'Knives Out 3' release date window
As of our latest update, we only know that "Knives Out 3" will be coming to Netflix at some point in 2025, as confirmed in the recent title announcement video.
The preceding movie, "Glass Onion," did enjoy a brief theatrical run before it was made available to stream at home, and it's possible (though unconfirmed) that "Wake Up Dead Man" will follow this pattern.
If you need more mysteries to keep you entertained whilst you wait for more info, check out our list of the 7 best movies like "Knives Out" and "Glass Onion."
Production on the movie officially began on June 10, as confirmed by Rian Johnson. Alongside this announcement, we also got our very first look at Daniel Craig in costume as Benoit Blanc. This stylish shot shows Benoit Blanc will be sporting a new look; check out that hair!
Thanks to another post on social media, we now know that filming on the project has wrapped. Rian Johnson confirmed the news on Instagram, with a black-and-white snap of a sign in a graveyard and a short comment that reads: "Aaaaaand that’s a wrap on "Wake Up Dead Man".
"Thank you to the best crew in the world and the most brilliant cast. This shoot was a VERY special experience, I cannot wait to put this thing together and show you all what we’ve got."
A post shared by Rian Johnson (@riancjohnson)
A photo posted by on
'Knives Out 3' cast: Who will star in 'Wake Up Dead Man'?
The last two "Knives Out" movies have boasted some truly killer ensembles, and it looks like "Knives Out 3" will be no different.
Naturally, you can't have a new "Knives Out" mystery without Benoit Blanc, and we already know that former 007 Daniel Craig will be back in action to solve the next murder, whoever the target[s] may be.
Since the movie's title was revealed, there was a steady stream of casting announcements that confirmed Craig will be joined by another set of stars. The new "Knives Out" ensemble already includes a number of big names, including "Dune Part 2" star Josh Brolin, screen legend Glenn Close, "Challengers" actor Josh O'Connor and many more. The downside? We don't know anything about the characters any of them are playing.
Here's the confirmed "Knives Out 3" cast list so far.
Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc
Josh Brolin
Thomas Haden Church (as reported by The Wrap)
Glenn Close
Josh O'Connor
Mila Kunis
Daryl McCormack
Jeremy Renner
Andrew Scott
Cailee Spaeny
Kerry Washington
One actor we know won't be appearing in the movie is "Venom: The Last Dance" star, Tom Hardy. Although there were rumors that claimed he'd joined the cast earlier in the year, Hardy put them to bed while speaking to ET Online.
"Nobody's called me about this", Hardy said. "This came out in the Google machine this morning, even I was like, 'What's this?' Someone's gotta ask me. Sounds cool, but no one' asked me. That's showbiz, right? Maybe I am in it!"
'Knives Out 3' plot
Given the "Knives Out" movies have all been murder-mystery movies, we know precious little about the plot, and that doesn't seem likely to change anytime soon.
All we really know at the time of writing comes from the title announcement video (embedded below), wherein Craig's master detective proclaims this new investigation "my most dangerous case yet." Could that mean the body count will be higher this time around? Or maybe Benoit Blanc himself will be in harm's way?
Whatever happens in "Knives Out 3", director Rian Johnson has hinted this third 'whodunnit' will feel a bit different from its predecessors, which again makes us think this threequel could well end up being a bit darker. On Twitter (X), he stated that getting to explore the genre's 'tonal spectrum' is, in his words, 'one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies'
At the same time, Johnson confirmed that the crew was about to enter production on "Knives Out 3" in late May. Hopefully, we'll get some more concrete info about the next chapter before long.
Is there a 'Knives Out 3' trailer yet?
Not yet! So far, all we've seen in the trailer department for "Knives Out 3" is the title announcement video, which revealed that Benoit Blanc's third case would officially be known as "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery".
