Knives Out, the comical “whodunnit” mystery film series, is finally seeing a return with all the intrigue and captivation thanks to director Rian Johnson. Today, Johnson announced the official title for the next instalment in the Knives Out series: Wake Up Dead Man.
Johnson cryptically teased this title with a few posts on X, hinting at the sequel with a screenshot of a green egg from Pokémon Go.
However, Johnson also hinted that this sequel might possibly approach a new genre while sticking to its mystery undertones.
“I love everything about whodunnits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is,” Johnson stated on X. “There's a whole tonal spectrum from [Mercy Carr] to [Agatha Christie], and getting to explore that range is one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies.”
In addition to the title reveal, Johnson also said that Wake Up Dead Man will be going into production very soon. However, plot details about the Knives Out sequel remain a mystery as of now.
Though no update on additional casting for Wake Up Dead Man has been provided, Daniel Craig is confirmed to reprise his role as Benoit Blanc, the enigmatic Southern private detective who serves as this franchise's main character.
In the original film, Blanc was hired to solve a rich family's case involving a dead novelist which saw some dark secrets between family members and their peers being unveiled. In Glass Onion, Blanc was faced with playing a murder mystery game that got extremely out of hand.
Though not much is revealed by this initial tease, Johnson stated that the title gives a “little hint” of what the sequel could be. Given the iconography of the coffin and the font used, it could signify a more medieval or Victorian setting for Blanc's next mystery.
Nonetheless, given how extravagant the Knives Out films have been and how Johnson views the genre as being “malleable”, it will be interesting to see where he takes Daniel Craig's character next.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery releases on Netflix in 2025.