Rian Johnson Teases Benoit Blanc's Most Dangerous Case Yet
Fans of murder mystery films can rejoice, because they have a new bone to gnaw on thanks to recent news. Film auteur Rian Johnson announced on social media that his next film would be titled ‘Wake Up Dead Man’, the third film in his whodunnit series.
It was once easy to forget that auteur Rian Johnson - the man who directed three of the best episodes of Breaking Bad and then became famous for his sci-fi films Looper and Star Wars: The Last Jedi - began his career with the murder-mystery film Brick. In 2019, he returned to that genre with the smash hit Knives Out. It featured an all-star cast, led by Daniel Craig in his most memorable role since 007; the flamboyant private detective named Benoit Blanc. With his southern drawl and eccentric deductions, Blanc tackled the mystery behind the death of renowned novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) aided by the deceased man’s nurse (Ana de Armas). Johnson’s love for the murder mystery genre was impossible to doubt, and the film also toyed with tropes and subverted the usual story structure to provide a genuinely compelling tale of deceit, intrigue, and foul play.
It was inevitable that a second film would follow Knives Out, but the bidding war which broke out for the rights to said sequel were, as one bidder later put, “mind-boggling.” Netflix ultimately emerged triumphant, but not before they paid an astonishing $469 million for not one but two sequels. Johnson was said to have earned $100 million for himself, as did his longtime producer Ram Bergman and his Knives Out star Craig.
The first of these promised sequels was released in 2022; Glass Onion featured an all-new mystery, with only Craig returning from the first film. Household name after household name were announced as part of the film’s cast, much to the amusement of SM. In that film, Blanc became an unexpected guest to a murder mystery party being held on a remote Greek island. Together with a small party of prominent citizens (played by Janelle Monáe and Dave Bautista, to name a few), Blanc had to navigate his way through a mystery concocted by eccentric billionaire Miles Braun (Edward Norton). Given that it was a Netflix exclusive, the commercial success of this film was more difficult to calculate. What was far more certain was the critical praise for this second film.
A third film has been teased since before the second was even made, but Johnson has finally confirmed that it is about to go into production. Along with his announcement, Netflix also released a teaser video narrated by Benoit Blanc himself. The video hints that Wake Up Dead Man will be Blanc’s “most dangerous case yet” while featuring the image of a coffin.
Johnson was quick to provide further hints at what this third film will be about. In one post, he explained: “I love everything about whodunnits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is. There’s a whole tonal spectrum from Carr to Christie, and getting to explore that range is one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies.” Feel free to speculate whether this means we’ll get a film which leans more into comedy, drama, or even horror. There is also the question of whether Blanc will be the only person to return from the previous films. Glass Onion featured a cameo by Hugh Grant as an unnamed man who was implied to be Blanc’s lover. Will he have a more pronounced role in this third film? We can only speculate for now, even as we await which A-listers will join Johnson’s latest escapade.
As of June 2nd, 2024, the production has officially added several new names to truly begin to give the cast shape. Johnson has always been one for gathering talent to his banners, and this film is no exception. It’s been announced that Daryl McCormack (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande), Andrew Scott (Fleabag, Sherlock, 1917), Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla, Civil War) and Josh O’Connor (The Crown, Emma, Challengers) have joined the cast in undisclosed roles, but most notably, superstar and oft-superhero Jeremy Renner (Mayor of Kingstown, The Avengers) and Mila Kunis (Family Guy, That 70’s Show) have signed on as well.. We can only speculate what roles they’ll play, but all three of them are undeniably talented actors. It will be very interesting to see them under Johnson’s direction, and we eagerly anticipate finding out who else will be coming along for the ride.