Fresh off its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery has dropped its first teaser trailer. The teaser offers fans a tantalizing glimpse into Benoit Blanc’s darkest case yet. The trailer’s arrival comes just days after the cast stunned the TIFF red carpet and posed for a gothic, moody new portrait shot by legendary photographer Frank Ockenfels.
Wake Up Dead Man, A Case That Defies Logic
Rian Johnson is back at the helm, writing and directing the third installment in his acclaimed murder mystery franchise. Daniel Craig reprises his role as the Southern-fried sleuth Benoit Blanc, this time drawn into a strange and spiritual crime inside a small, tightly-wound upstate New York parish.
The story centers on young priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor), who’s sent to work under fiery Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). But when a murder shatters the sanctity of the church, secrets begin to spill, and every member of the community becomes a suspect.
Blanc must navigate small-town politics, buried guilt, and the dark corners of faith, assisted by no-nonsense police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis). The trailer hints at classic whodunit structure. But the tone this time is moodier, richer, and weirder than anything Johnson has attempted with this series so far.
A Cast Blessed and Cursed
The supporting ensemble is, once again, a major draw. Glenn Close plays Martha Delacroix, a pious parishioner with hidden depths. Thomas Haden Church is the watchful groundskeeper Samson Holt. Kerry Washington and Daryl McCormack bring tension as power couple Vera and Cy Draven. Also joining the cast are Jeremy Renner as a morally conflicted town doctor, Andrew Scott as a bestselling novelist with secrets, and Cailee Spaeny as an emotionally fragile concert cellist.
The trailer plays with imagery both sacred and sinister, a choir echoing through shadowed pews, stained glass fractured by candlelight, and Blanc himself lit like a prophet on trial. If Knives Out was cozy and Glass Onion was loud, Wake Up Dead Man feels like a murder mystery haunted by something more than guilt.
World Premiere Sparks Critical Buzz
TIFF audiences reportedly ate it up. Early reactions point to a strong balance of tone, with Craig’s comedic timing anchoring an otherwise moody and philosophical script. The chemistry among the cast, captured in Ockenfels’s black-and-white portraits, radiates even off-screen.
With back-to-back critical darlings behind him, Johnson seems to be using this third chapter not just to evolve the franchise, but to explore new emotional and visual territory. This is less drawing room, more confession boot, and the sins on the table are big ones.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery hits select theaters November 26 and premieres globally on Netflix December 12.
About Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
DIRECTOR: Rian Johnson
WRITER: Rian Johnson
PRODUCERS: Ram Bergman, Rian Johnson
CAST: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church
SYNOPSIS
Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns for his most dangerous case yet in the third and darkest chapter of Rian Johnson’s murder mystery opus. When young priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) is sent to assist charismatic firebrand Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), it’s clear that all is not well in the pews. Wicks’s modest-but-devoted flock includes devout church lady Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), circumspect groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church), tightly-wound lawyer Vera Draven, Esq. (Kerry Washington), aspiring politician Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack), town doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), best-selling author Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), and concert cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny).
After a sudden and seemingly impossible murder rocks the town, the lack of an obvious suspect prompts local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) to join forces with renowned detective Benoit Blanc to unravel a mystery that defies all logic. Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Rian Johnson writes and directs Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, and assembles another all-star, award-winning cast.
Are you ready to see Benoit Blanc take on his darkest case yet? Which character are you most suspicious of based on the trailer? What’s your theory on how it ends? Drop your thoughts in the comments or @me.
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