NetflixNew Knives Out 3 details emerged at the Tudum 2025 event, including who the star-studded cast is playing and when the movie drops on Netflix.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is the third – and most expensive – instalment in the Benoit Blanc series, a trilogy that sees the gentleman detective solving crimes in a variety of locations.
In the first Knives Out flick, he was investigating a murder at a country estate in Massachusetts, while in sequel Glass Onion, his detecting skills were put to use on a Greek Island.
In the new Netflix movie, he’s at an as-yet-undisclosed location, while the kill in question appears to be related to religion. So, here’s everything we know about Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery…
When is Knives Out 3 released on Netflix?
Knives Out 3 drops on Netflix on December 12, 2025.
NetflixThere’s no word yet regarding if or when Wake Up Dead Man will have a theatrical release in advance of that date.
The first Knives Out movie was a Lionsgate production, and grossed more than $300 million before heading to streaming. Then Netflix purchased the exclusive rights to sequels, meaning Glass Onion had a limited theatrical release before quickly transitioning to the streamer.
Knives Out writer-director Rian Johnson recently spoked about his desire to see the threequel on as many cinema screens as possible, telling Business Insider: “We’ve seen if you put a movie people want to see in the theatres, they are going to show up for it, and that experience of being in a full house and having that experience is so important. It’s something that I love and I want more of in the world.”
Wake Up Dead Man cast
Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc. You can check out the rest of the cast and the characters they’re playing below:
Related
- Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc
- Andrew Scott as Lee Ross
- Glenn Close as Martha Delacroix
- Josh Brolin as Msgr. Jefferson Wicks
- Mila Kunis as Geraldine Scott
- Jeremy Renner as Dr. Nat Sharp
- Kerry Washington as Dera Draven
- Thomas Haden Church as Samson Holt
- Cailee Spaeny as Simone Divane
- Josh O’Connor as Rev. Jud Duplenticy
- Daryl McCormack as Cy Draven
What is Knives Out 3 about?
NetflixKnives Out 3 appears to be about a murder happening in or around a church, with Josh O’Conner’s Reverend and Josh Brolin’s Monsignor potentially playing a major role in the story.
In a 2024 Tweet, Rian Johnson wrote that the series would continue to explore different corners of the murder-mystery genre, stating: “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.”
The film could also further explore Benoit Blanc’s sexuality after Glass Onion revealed his relationship with a man (played by Hugh Grant).
Speaking to Above the Line, Johnson said, “If you watch the movie, I think it’s made explicit. In terms of exploring it, maybe, but with these movies, they’re not really about the detective’s sexuality.
“It’s baked into the genre [when] the detective is kind of set outside the realm of the human drama that’s going on with the rest of the suspects. I’m sure it’ll come into play because it’s a big part of who he is. It’s just a fact about his character.”
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery trailer
Here’s the first teaser trailer for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery:
While ‘O Death’ by Ralph Stanley plays on the soundtrack, we see footage of Rev. Jud Duplenticy walking towards a church that looks to be in the English countryside, though with Mila Kunis’s character appearing to wear an American police uniform, it’s probably in some leafy borough of the US.
Then we get a glimpse at Benoit Blanc leaning against a tree in a graveyard, as via voiceover, he calls the case at the center of the movie “the ‘impossible crime.” In suitably dramatic fashion, he then says, “For a man of reason, this is the Holy Grail.”
That’s followed by quick-fire images of a woman playing cello in a concert hall, Glenn Close’s character kneeling and praying as police cars pull up behind her, and a priest delivering a sermon.
Then over a brief shot of what looks like Duplenticy stabbing someone with a knife, Blanc says: “This was dressed as a miracle, but it’s just a murder, and I solve murders.”
For more intrigue, check out the best thrillers on Netflix right now and where to watch Rian Johnson’s best mystery movie.
