The knives are out—and proud!
Over the weekend, filmmaker Rian Johnson unveiled the title for his next movie in the Knives Out whodunnit series, which will again follow renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he solves yet another high-stakes mystery.
Called Wake Up, Dead Man (named after a 1986 U2 song), the film is slated to be released by Netflix in 2025.
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While no plot details have been revealed, Johnson shared he loves how “malleable” the genre is, with a “whole tonal spectrum” to explore. And, given the dark, eerie tone of the teaser above, we can assume Blanc’s “most dangerous case yet” might also be his most horrifying.
But the director did give us one other intriguing clue: They’re “about to go into production” on this Knives Out sequel, meaning its ensemble of suspects/potential victims would soon be revealed…
Meet the cast of Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (so far)
Well, sure enough, this week brings news of Wake Up, Dead Man‘s first cast additions, and they prove why the these movies really are “for the gays.”
After rumors began to swirl over the weekend, we got confirmation yesterday that both Josh O’Connor and Cailee Spaeny have joined the cast.
O’Connor, of course, has become the internet’s new favorite crush after his swaggering performance in Luca Guadagnino’s queer love triangle tennis drama Challengers. But we’ve been fans of this rising star for ever since his heartbreaking turn in the excellent, gay romantic drama God’s Own Country.
Spaeny’s another exciting young talent, fresh off the surprise box office success of the dystopian indie Civil War and her award-winning turn in the biopic Priscilla, and is set to headline this fall’s sci-fi prequel Alien: Romulus.
Again, we don’t know anything about who they’ll both play, but given O’Connor’s track record for playing queer characters, is it too much to ask that maybe he’ll go gay again? Possibly as an apprentice to Blanc? His posh, British charms would make a great foil to the detective’s southern-fried sass!
But that’s not all: Today, Variety announced that out gay actor Andrew Scott has also joined Wake Up, Dead Man playing—you guessed it—another top-secret role.
Interestingly, Scott and Craig have gone head-to-head once before in the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre, but he’s proven himself pretty incredible at playing both the good guy (Fleabag) and the bad guy (Ripley, Sherlock), which makes him just the right amount of suspicious for this whodunit. Ooh, maybe he can play a ex-lover of Blanc’s, coming back into the picture with ulterior motives?
As we’re sure you’ll remember, the last Knives Out movie, Glass Onion, featured some not-so-subtle hints that Benoit Blanc was queer—which Johnson himself confirmed—giving us a “boyfriend reveal” in the form of a surprising Hugh Grant cameo. With that out of the way, we’re hopeful this next mystery will be able to delve into the detective’s love life a bit further, and explore his queerness in a more substantial way.
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More Wake Up, Dead Man casting rumors
Surely, more cast members for Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will be announced in the coming days ahead of a reported June 10 production start date. In the meantime, fans are playing “armchair detective” and trying to figure out who else might be among the surely star-studded ensemble.
Though its since been corrected, the site What’s On Netflix previously reported that both Tom Hardy and Lindsay Lohan were being eyed for roles, which certainly raised some eyebrows. At this point, it doesn’t sound like this was true…. but what if???
Mad Max: Fury Road and Inception star Hardy once famously said, “of course’ I’ve had sex with men—I’m an actor for f*ck sake!,” so his casting would… definitely add a distinct brand of queerness to the mix, right?
And then there’s Lohan, the former Mean Girls and Disney star who’s long had a devoted queer fanbase. Despite a troubled personal life, she’s made a more formal return to acting in recent years, specifically in Netflix rom-coms like Falling For Christmas and Irish Wish. Still, the new Knives Out movie would be a much more high-profile project for her, so even the possibility of a role in the whodunit sequel came as a surprise.
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Our completely unfounded theory? Well, Glass Onion featured its fair share of gag-worthy celebrity cameos—including icons Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury in their final on-screen roles—so who’s to say Wake Up, Dead Man won’t follow suit? Even if they’re not officially joining the cast, it’s not out of the question that Hardy and Lohan couldn’t make appearances some way, somehow.
Until then, it’s all just rumor—and, as Lohan sings in her most famous single: “I’m tired of rumors starting.” Amen, diva!
Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is slated to be released at a TBA date in 2025. Stay tuned for more details and casting announcements to come!
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