(Left) Josh O’Connor attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘Challengers’ at Regency Village Theatre on April 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Stewart Cook/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios. (Right) Cailee Spaeny in ‘Priscilla.’ Credit: Sabrina Lantos.
Preview:
- Josh O’Connor and Cailee Spaeny are the latest addition to the ‘Knives Out’ movies.
- Daniel Craig stars.
- Rian Johnson is gearing up to direct the new film.
Having found success with his first ‘Knives Out’ movie back in 2019 ($300 million at the box office from a relatively thrifty $40 million budget), writer/director Rian Johnson signed a hefty $450 million deal with Netflix to produce two more, with producer Ram Bergman and star Daniel Craig along for the ride.
That deal has already borne fruit with the release of 2022’s ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ and we learned late last week that the third movie in the series, ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ is already gearing up for production.
Beyond Craig, who returns as drawling detective Benoit Blanc, we now know the first two cast members who will be part of the new mystery, as ‘Challengers’ Josh O’Connor and ‘Priscilla’/‘Civil War’s Cailee Spaeny are confirmed as joining the cast.
And they’re not the only ones. Shortly after the duo’s casting was reported, news broke that Andrew Scott –– who won praise for his work in ‘All of Us Strangers’ on the big screen and Netflix’s recent TV adaptation ‘Ripley’, was reported by Variety as joining the cast.
What’s the story of ‘Knives Out’?
Daniel Craig in Rian Johnson’s ‘Knives Out.’
Kicking off with the first, eponymous movie, the ‘Knives Out’ series began as Craig’s southern-fried detective Blanc probed the secrets of the uptight, wealthy Thrombey clan after the mysterious death of patriarch Harlan (Christopher Plummer).
It featured the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette and Katherine Langford, alongside a breakout turn for Ana de Armas, who played Harlan’s nurse and came to factor much more deeply into the story.
Travelling far from the chilly Massachusetts mansion of the original, ‘Glass Onion’ found Blanc headed overseas.
(L to R) Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Janelle Monáe, and Daniel Craig in ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.’
When tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) invites some of his nearest and dearest for a getaway on his private Greek island, it soon becomes clear that all is not perfect in paradise. And when someone turns up dead, who better than Blanc to peel back the layers of intrigue?
As well as Craig and Norton, the cast was once more stuffed with talent, including Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista.
What will happen in ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’?
Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc in Netflix’s ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.’
As is befitting the new mystery, Johnson has yet to release any real details about the movie, so it’s a waiting game to see where Blanc ends up this time, and what he has to dig into.
While O’Connor and Spaeny are the first confirmed cast, there have been rumors about Tom Hardy and Lindsay Lohan being in talks to join them.
Related Article: ‘Glass Onion’ is a Fun Sequel But is Mostly a Carbon Copy of the Original
When will ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ be on screens?
Netflix has yet to confirm a release date for the movie but given that Johnson is about to start he cameras rolling, we’d expect it to arrive in 2025. We’ll have to wait and see whether Netflix gives it a theatrical run (‘Glass Onion’ had a limited release before it hit the company’s servers).
Writer and director Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig on the set of ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.’ Photo: Courtesy of John Wilson/Netflix © 2022.