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Netflix makes major Knives Out 3 casting announcement

The hit follow-up to Glass Onion is in the works - and we're here for it

Netflix makes major Knives Out 3 casting announcement

By Danielle de Wolfe

28 May 2024

Knives Out might just be the ultimate example of a big screen whodunit success story - and now, audiences are poised to get their hands on yet another instalment.

Word leaked that a Knives Out 3 was officially in the works a few months back, with the Netflix production now making its first major casting announcement.

Fans of the Benoit Blanc franchise now have a taste of what's to come, with The Challengers star Josh O'Connor and Priscilla actor Cailee Spaeny set to join lead Daniel Craig as part of the upcoming twisted mystery.

It follows widespread whispers surrounding the cast, with Lindsay Lohan and Tom Hardy both rumoured to be in talks with the production.

Entitled Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, it's been revealed that production on the third incarnation of Knives Out is set to get underway in the coming weeks.

The news, confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, follows the release of a 45-second video teaser video on Friday, which revealed the sequel’s title.

Described by Daniel Craig in the title teaser as his "most dangerous case yet", the third film's title appears from the darkness, alongside its impending 2025 release date.

“The next Benoit Blanc mystery, the follow-up to Knives Out and Glass Onion, is called Wake Up Dead Man,” director Rian Johnson wrote on X.

Once again helming the production, Knives Out 3 will be written and directed by Johnson, with the creator also confirming that Craig will reprise his role as the illusive Benoit Blanc.

Taking to social media on Friday, Johnson continued: “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.”

For those who are yet to catch the first two films - erm, where have you been? - Knives Out and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery have led the whodunit franchise to become one of the most successful in recent memory.

With the first film gaining a whopping 97% approval rating on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, Knives Out was widely praised by critics, described as a "classy" and "earnest whodunit".

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.
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) May 24, 2024

Tudum, Netflix's editorial-style press site, posted following the director's announcement, adding: “That’s right, Daniel Craig is back as the suave Southern investigator in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, a new installment of the whodunnit franchise written and directed by Rian Johnson.

"Blanc will be unraveling a brand-new murder mystery in an as-yet-undisclosed setting, surrounded by a new colorful cast of suspects,” the site explained.

We can't wait to find out more, with the Netflix feature set to drop in 2025.