Daniel Craig's Blanc Is Coming Back To Solve A Gothic Mystery In Wake Up Dead Man

Benoit Blanc is many things: a southern gentleman detective, a modern-day Poirot in linen, a man who says the word “doughnut” like he’s solving quantum physics. But in Wake Up Dead Man, the newly teased third installment of Rian Johnson’s endlessly evolving Knives Out mystery saga, he looks… haunted. And we’re into it.

Netflix just dropped the first teaser for Wake Up Dead Man, and while it doesn’t offer much in the way of plot (or even characters), it tells us exactly what we need to know: this isn’t just another elaborate parlour game.

It’s going to be darker, more spiritual, and possibly bloodier. “It is an impossible crime,” Blanc drawls, staring down the camera like he’s seen something unspeakable—and for a man who’s outwitted tech billionaires and upper-crust murderers, that’s saying something.

Let’s get over the obvious bits about the upcoming murder mystery out of our way: Rian Johnson knows how to evolve a franchise without repeating himself. Knives Out was a razor-sharp, old-school murder mystery that took aim at privilege and inheritance. Glass Onion upped the ante with a sun-drenched satire of tech culture and fake geniuses.

But Wake Up Dead Man? From the looks of this teaser, Johnson is pivoting once again—leaning into a gothic, almost biblical atmosphere. This could be the moment when the franchise goes full Southern Gothic, all shadowy churches and family secrets buried in swamps.

The teaser is stripped to the bone. Daniel Craig is in the thick mysterious forest, fully committed to Benoit Blanc’s molasses-thick accent and gentlemanly gravitas, slipping on a crème monochrome suit like he’s gearing up for some kind of reckoning.

The title—Wake Up Dead Man—hits the screen like a sermon. It’s dramatic, theatrical, a little pulpy, and totally perfect. And the cast of this whodunit murder mystery is absolutely stacked.

Netflix and Johnson have rounded up an ensemble that’s somehow even more eclectic and potentially chaotic than the last two films. The suspects—or victims?—include Andrew Scott (our forever Hot Priest), Cailee Spaeny (fresh off Priscilla), Josh O’Connor (Challengers, The Crown), Kerry Washington, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, and the ever-iconic Glenn Close. That’s Oscar energy, indie cred, and chaotic meme potential all in one room.

If you're reading between the lines of the trailer—and let’s be honest, there’s something slightly supernatural lurking in the subtext. Johnson has hinted that this mystery will push Blanc into unfamiliar terrain. Possibly metaphysical terrain. Maybe something with a touch of folk horror.

In this trailer, there’s something funereal in his voice. He’s not just solving a murder. He’s confronting something darker. Something personal. Maybe even fatal.

Also, if you watch the trailer you’ll be confused because the release date is hidden in plain sight- it is telling about what we can truly expect from the film. Of course, this is all a well-orchestrated misdirect.

Johnson is a filmmaker who loves playing with genre expectations.

And if he’s teasing death, danger, and doom in the trailer, don’t be surprised if the actual film is a carnival of absurdity making you scratch your head who really is the culprit and who is the dead man that needs waking up.

Wake Up Dead Man hits Netflix on December 12, 2025. Until then, all we can do is speculate, sip something strong, and brush up on our Southern detective idioms. Something tells us we’re going to need them as “for a man of reason this is a holy grail”.