Rian Johnson confirmed 'Knives Out 3' is called 'Wake Up Dead Man' Here's everything we know so far.
- Rian Johnson is working on "Wake Up Dead Man" after the success of 2022's "Glass Onion."
- Daniel Craig will return as detective Benoit Blanc.
Audiences fell head over heels for Rian Johnson's murder mystery Knives Out when it arrived in theaters in 2019.
Led by Daniel Craig as Southern detective Benoit Blanc, the film earned a 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
After making $312 million at the box office, it was no surprise when a bidding war started for the rights to sequels.
Ultimately, Netflix paid a reported $450 million for the franchise, and Johnson delivered 2022's "Glass Onion."
The sequel saw Blanc tackle a mystery on a Greek island with a star-studded cast played by the likes of Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Dave Bautista, and Kathryn Hahn.
Now, the next "Knives Out" movie is officially on the way, and Rian Johnson revealed on X that the third film in the series is titled "Wake Up Dead Man." Craig's character narrates the teaser, calling it his "most dangerous case yet."
Rian Johnson is taking Benoit Blanc back to America in "Wake Up Dead Man."
One of the most important ingredients of a whodunit is an interesting location.
"Knives Out" is set in a quirky mansion in Massachusetts, while "Glass Onion" takes place on a Greek island owned by Edward Norton's egotistical billionaire, Miles Bron.
Business Insider spoke to director Rian Johnson back in December 2022, and he revealed that "Wake Up Dead Man" will be set in the US.
"I want it to be in America. There's a lot of tempting things of going to Paris or the Alps but I feel it's really important that these are American movies," he said.
"Even with 'Glass Onion,' it's set overseas but it's a group of Americans who are trapped on an island together, so bringing it back to somewhere a little closer to home I think could be a good thing for the next one," Johnson added.
Johnson gave an update to TheWrap in October 2023, saying that he's now free to work on the movie following the end of the Writers Guild of America strike.
"It's coming along. I obviously couldn't work during the strike, and now that it's over, I'm diving in full force, and so it's coming along," said Johnson. "I've got the premise, I've got the setting, I've got what the movie is in my head. It's just a matter of writing the damn thing."
Daniel Craig is the only cast member currently expected to appear in "Wake Up Dead Man."
For now, the only star confirmed to return is Craig, who is set to whip out his "Kentucky-fried Foghorn Leghorn drawl" once more.
Johnson told Variety in October 2022 that he'll keep making more movies about Benoit Blanc for as long as possible.
"If each one of these can really be what Agatha Christie did, if it can be not just in a totally new location and a new cast, but also trying something exciting, I'll keep doing it as long as Daniel and I are having a good time," he said. "I'll keep making these as long as they let me."
The James Bond actor echoed the same sentiment in an interview with Deadline in November 2022.
"Rian seems to me to be very excited about getting on with the next one. He's already got some ideas, and they sound to me to be really interesting, so I'm going to let him just get on with that," Craig said.
"I mean, if people are interested, then we'll make them," he continued. "But if there ever came a point where either Rian and I thought we were just churning them out, I think we would back away. I mean, I just don't think that's what either of us want to do in life. Unless people are getting genuine fun out of them, forget it."
Business Insider has a few suggestions for actors who should be in "Knives Out 3," like Jenna Ortega and Matt Berry.
"Wake Up Dead Man" arrives in 2025.
Johnson's announcement on X showed off the first logo for "Wake Up Dead Man," and confirmed that the film will arrive in 2025.
Whether the film will go straight to Netflix or have a theatrical release before hitting streaming remains to be seen.
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