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- Netflix has confirmed Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will premiere on the streaming service on 12 December 2025.
- The sequel to 2022’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will also be released in select theatres starting on November 26.
- The upcoming murder mystery film sees Daniel Craig reprise his role as the charming southern detective Benoit Blanc.
- Craig is joined by an all-star cast that includes Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner and more.
Daniel Craig’s debonair detective Benoit Blanc is back on the case. Netflix has confirmed the Knives Out 3 release date as 12 December, 2025, with a short theatrical run to take place in November. The new instalment in the murder mystery franchise, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, will see the former James Bond star back to his brooding best, joined by a new ensemble cast. Much like the 2019 self-titled breakout smash and the 2022 sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the upcoming film is written and directed by Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Rian Johnson.
‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ Release Date
In a statement posted on Tudum, Netflix’s in-house publication, the streamer confirmed that Wake Up Dead Man will arrive on the platform on December 12, but fans won’t have to wait until then to see the film. The latest instalment will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, and will open the BFI London Film Festival on October 8. Additionally, Netflix has slated a short theatrical run, with Wake Up Dead Man to play in select theatres starting on November 26.
Check out the film’s first official teaser below.
Knives Out 3
The Knives Out 3 release date announcement arrived alongside a swathe of new production images, showing cast members in action and behind-the-scenes footage. For fans, it marks the first real look at the upcoming instalment, which has been (fittingly) shrouded in mystery since it was first announced in May 2024. Set in a small hamlet in leafy upstate New York, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery returns the franchise’s murder mystery roots, taking Craig’s Benoit Blanc on a trail of intrigue and deception.
Knives Out Franchise
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will mark the third film in Rian Johnson’s Agatha Christie-inspired franchise. The original film, which featured an all-star ensemble cast that included Craig, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer, and Toni Collette was the surprise hit of 2019; and for good reason. The film was funny, thought-provoking, and charming in all the right ways.
The much-anticipated 2022 sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery dialled up the humour and social commentary, but failed to reach the lofty heights of its predecessor. Starring Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista, alongside Craig’s eccentric detective, Glass Onion took a deviation from the winning formula of the first film. Focusing less on the traditional murder mystery plot points and playing up to pop-culture references, the film felt less like a true narrative and more like an exaggerated take on the state of the post-COVID, tech-bro world at the time.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery appears to correct the course, with Daniel Craig and Rian Johnson returning to more familiar territory. The upcoming film follows Craig’s southern detective Benoit Blanc on his “most personal journey yet” as he tackles a seemingly unsolvable murder. Much like the first film in the franchise, Wake Up Dead Man pays homage to the great crime writers of yesteryear.
“Something I love about Agatha Christie is how she never tread water creatively,” Johnson said earlier this year. “She was constantly stretching the (murder mystery) genre conceptually. Under the umbrella of a whodunnit she wrote spy thrillers, proto-slasher horrors, serial killer hunts, gothic romances, psychological character studies, glam travelogues. When I made Knives Out, that’s what excited me about more mysteries with Daniel as Benoit Blanc – to emulate Christie and have every film be like a whole new book, with its own tone, ambition (and) reason for being.”
Everything We Know About Wake Up Dead Man
According to the official synopsis, the new film brings Blanc to a small hamlet in leafy upstate New York, where eager young priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) has been sent to assist the local priest, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). A charismatic firebrand, Wicks tends to a flock that includes Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church), Vera Draven (Kerry Washington), Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack), Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), and Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny).
All seems to be fine until a “seemingly impossible” murder rocks the town and forces local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) to team up with Blanc. Together, the two must follow the clues to unravel a mystery that “pushes the boundaries of both faith and reason”.
According to writer and director Rian Johnson, the upcoming film returns to the franchise’s murder mystery genesis. Speaking with Tudum, the filmmaker said Wake Up Dead Man hearkens back to the literary lineage of the murder mystery.
“It’s more similar to the first Knives Out in that it gets back to the real origins of the genre, which predate Agatha Christie, going back to Edgar Allan Poe,” Johnson said. “It’s still a Benoit Blanc mystery, so it’s funny and fun, but it’s set in an old stone church, there are lots of graveyards.”
Setting
As Johnson revealed, the aesthetic for Knives Out 3 is far more “gothic” than the previous instalment, and he described the tone as grounded. The majority of the film takes place in a cavernous chapel built by production designer Rick Heinrichs, which bodes well for Steve Yedlin’s chiaroscuro cinematography.
“Themes of guilt, mystery, morality, and fallible humanity all feel right at home in a church, with a man of God in the centre of the mix,” Johnson told Tudum. “I have strong feelings about faith: both my own personal experience and how it intersects with our country’s cultural and civic life, and the ways that intersection touches all of us differently. So it felt like rich ground for a good story.”
Knives Out 3 Cast Confirmed
As confirmed by the official synopsis, Wake Up Dead Man features another all-star ensemble cast. Daniel Craig reprises his role as the enigmatic Southern private investigator Benoit Blanc, with support from screen legends Glenn Close, Thomas Hayden Church and Josh Brolin. One of the most interesting characters in the film, however, is Josh O’Connor’s man of the cloth. Speaking with Tudum, director Rian Johnson revealed that O’Connor takes centre stage in this film, providing a subtle heroism that drives the film’s narrative arc.
“The secret to each one of these movies is that Benoit Blanc is not the main character of these films. There’s always a protagonist who has some real stakes and skin in the game,” Johnson said. “Josh’s character Jud is that character in this movie.”
The full Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery cast has now been confirmed, ahead of the 12 December 2025 release date. Here is the full cast of the new film:
- Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc
- Josh O’Connor as Jud Duplenticy
- Josh Brolin as Monsignor Jefferson Wicks
- Glenn Close as Martha Delacroix
- Mila Kunis as police chief Geraldine Scott
- Jeremy Renner as Nat Sharp
- Kerry Washington as Vera Draven
- Andrew Scott as Lee Ross
- Cailee Spaeny as Simone Vivane
- Daryl McCormack as Cy Draven
- Thomas Haden Church as Samson Holt
“Every single day on set with this ensemble, I would blink and be astounded that we talked these people into showing up,” Johnson said of the cast of Wake Up Dead Man. “The experience of making these movies and the chemistry between these incredible actors is the key to why we love doing them. You get great actors together, you let them hang out, and games will ensue.”
Future Knives Out Films
With Wake Up Dead Man hitting cinemas in November, discussions around future sequels have already begun. The new instalment marks the completion of Rian Johnson’s two-movie deal with streaming service Netflix, which was reportedly worth a staggering USD$450 million. The filmmaker and lead actor Daniel Craig have previously stated that they will “continue making additional films in the series, so long as they are both involved together.”
“What Rian’s movies do best,” Craig told Tudum, “is subvert the genre. You start off thinking you’re watching an old-fashioned sort of Agatha Christie-type mystery — but then it shifts, and you realise you’re watching something entirely different.”
What that future looks like is anyone’s guess, however. Johnson has previously toyed with the idea of a Knives Out Christmas special and even revealed that he seriously considered a Blanc mystery film with The Muppets as the supporting cast.
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