Rian Johnson, the writer and director of the Knives Out franchise, has opened up about the story he ideated for the third film in the series, which evolved into the “hardest script” he’s ever had to write. Knives Out 3 sees Benoit Blanc trying to solve yet another murder mystery, this time inside a church’s congregation led by Monsignor Jefferson Wicks. While whodunits must be relatively hard to write for obvious reasons, it wasn’t the genre’s tropes that made it hard for Johnson to write. It was actually the inevitable inclusion of some religious themes.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is set to be released in theaters on November 26, with a Netflix release following on December 12. The film reunites Johnson with Daniel Craig (Blanc), who’s joined by an ensemble cast that includes Josh O’Connor, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Cailee Spaeny, and Jeffrey Wright, among many others.
Johnson’s prowess as a writer is unquestionable, with several of his screenplays praised on the awards circuit. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery looks like another winner, but the writer/director admitted to Empire magazine that it wasn’t an easy gig because of the way he had to depict its religious motif:
“This was definitely the hardest script I’ve ever written. I grew up very Christian — not just raised going to church, but with a belief in God, and a relationship with Christ being incredibly central to the way I framed everything in the world around me. And I’m not anymore. I have lots of people in my life that I love that still are [religious], and there are things about that time that I still really treasure. I have a lot of complicated feelings about it.
“That’s the real reason the script was so hard to write. It’s something I do take really seriously. I wanted to explore it in a really honest way, while also not being facile about it, or — God forbid — moralistic or irreverent.”
Daniel Craig, whose character Detective Benoit Blanc remains the element tying the three films together, expanded on Johnson’s writing style, saying, “Once he starts, he’s like a dog with a bone — he works it and works it and works it until he gets it right. And then read it immediately again. It’s like watching the movies — it’s always great to watch it a second time, because there are always bits you miss.”
Will Rian Johnson Have a Shot at the Academy Awards Again With ‘Knives Out 3’?
Knives Out is one of the few Hollywood franchises with two entries that have caught the eye of the Academy. Both 2019’s Knives Out and 2022’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery received nominations at the Academy Awards. The first film got a nod for Best Original Screenplay, while the sequel was mentioned for Best Adapted Screenplay.
With a sequel that’s more ambitious than the first two, Netflix will surely fire up their FYC campaign for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Hopefully, Johnson’s effort when writing his most complex script yet will be recognized by the voters at the Academy, and lead to a real shot at actually winning an Oscar next year.
- Release Date
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December 12, 2025
- Runtime
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144 minutes