The cast for the third instalment of the whodunnit franchise A Knives Out Mystery is slowly being announced and it’s shaping up to be the most star-studded film in the franchise yet.
It was announced on Tuesday (28 May) thatThe Challengers star Josh O’Connor and Priscilla actor Cailee Spaeny would be joining Daniel Craig, who will be reprising his role as the world-famous detective Benoit Blanc in the third Netflix film in the murder mystery franchise, titled Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
A second announcement revealed that Ripley star Andrew Scott, the Irish actor best known for his roles in Sherlock and Fleagbag, would be joining them, alongside the Fatal Attraction and Guardians of the Galaxy actor Glenn Close, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
Rian Johnson, who is returning to write the script, announced the new movie’s title on X/Twitter last week, writing: “The next Benoit Blanc mystery, the follow-up to Knives Out and Glass Onion, is called Wake Up Dead Man.”
Netflix also confirmed Craig’s return and the sequel title on its Tudum site following Johnson’s post.
“That’s right, Daniel Craig is back as the suave Southern investigator in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, a new instalment of the whodunnit franchise written and directed by Rian Johnson. Blanc will be unravelling a brand-new murder mystery in an as-yet-undisclosed setting, surrounded by a new colorful cast of suspects,” a statement read.
The Hollywood Reporter then confirmed reports that O’Connor and Spaeny would be joining Craig, as both actors come into the film off the back of successful breakout roles, with O’Connor starring in the tennis drama The Challengers alongside Zendaya and Mike Faist, and previously played a young King Charles in Netflix British royal family drama series The Crown. Spaeny starred in the Priscilla Presley biopic last year, and most recently had a prominent role in A24’s Civil War.
While no further plot or cast details have been announced, it has been reported by What’s On Netflix that Lindsay Lohan and Tom Hardy are rumoured to be in talks to star in the film. The Independent has contacted Netflix for comment.
The second instalment of the Knives Out Mystery concluded after a murder mystery party took a dark turn when Duke Cody (played by Dave Bautista) sipped on a drink dosed with pineapple juice, which immediately killed him since he’s severely allergic to pineapples. Audiences also learn that Cassandra “Andi” Brand (played by Janelle Monáe), who is Miles’s ex-business partner, died days before the party.
It’s revealed at the end of the film that Andi wasn’t actually in attendance at the party, it was her twin sister Helen posing as her, and it was tech billionaire mogul Miles who staged her death. Miles is also exposed to be the killer of Duke.
After the success of the first Knives Out movie under Lionsgate, Johnson sold the rights to two future instalments exclusively to Netflix in a $450m (£353m) deal for the two sequels. The second instalment also saw Kate Hudson as Birdie Jay, Jessica Henwick as Peg and Madelyn Cline as Whiskey.
Filming for the new movie is expected to begin this summer.
