Andrew Scott was announced to be joining Josh O’Connor and Daniel Craigin the third Knives Out film – Wake Up Dead Man.
On Tuesday, Variety revealed that the Irish star, 47, known for his roles as The Hot Priest in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag and James Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock, will join the Rian Johnson’s hit film series.
The announcement comes after the co-lead of critically acclaimed tennis film Challengers, Josh, 34, was also revealed to be joining the franchise.
He joined Cailee Spaeny, known for portraying Elvis Presley’s ex-wife Priscilla in the 2023 biopic of the same name.
Returning is fan favourite Daniel, 56, who has appeared in all Knives Out films as Detective Benoit Blanc.
Andrew Scott, 47, will be joining Josh O’Connor and Daniel Craig in the third Knives Out film – Wake Up Dead Man, it was announced on Tuesday
The announcement comes after the co-lead of critically acclaimed tennis film Challengers, Josh, 34, was also revealed to be joining the franchise
Fan favourite Daniel who has appeared in all Knives Out films as Detective Benoit Blanc will also be returning
Wake Up Dead Man precedes 2019’s Knives Out and 2022’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
Writer-director Rian Johnson revealed the title in an X post on Friday, while adding in subsequent tweets that, ‘We’re about to go into production on the 3rd one, and I’m very, very excited to share the title, which gives a little hint of where it’s going.’
‘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,’ he added in another tweet.
Johnson has written and directed the first two movies in the franchise, starting with Knives Out, which was released theatrically through Lionsgate.
The story followed detective Benoit Blanc, who was brought in by the family of a wealthy author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer).
The star-studded cast also included Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ana de Armas, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette and Lakeith Stanfield.
Knives Out grossed a healthy $165.3 million domestic and $312.8 million worldwide from just a $40 million budget.
The film was also widely beloved from critics and was listed as one of AFI and the National Board of Reviews’ top 10 films of 2019, while Johnson earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
While Lionsgate had announced plans to develop a sequel, Netflix obtained the rights to two sequels for a whopping $469 million.
The first – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – brought back Craig as Benoit Blanc with a new cast including Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista.
The sequel received a one-week theatrical run in theaters, opening with $9.4 million and ending its run with $13.2 million before heading to the Netflix streaming service.
Wake Up Dead Man is the second film in Netflix’s pact, and it’s uncertain if they plan on making even more Knives Out sequels.
It’s also unclear if this sequel will have a small theatrical release like Glass Onion, which was the first Netflix movie to be shown in all three major theater chains – AMC, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark.
Also making her Knives Out debut in Wake Up Dead Man is Cailee Spaeny, 25, known for portraying Elvis Presley’s ex-wife Priscilla in the 2023 biopic of the same name
American writer-director Rian, 50, shared on Twitter: ‘We’re about to go into production on the 3rd one, and I’m very, very excited to share the title, which gives a little hint of where it’s going’
Wake Up Dead Man precedes 2019’s Knives Out and 2022’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (pictured Chris Evans in Knives Out)
The story followed detective Benoit Blanc, who was brought in by the family of a wealthy author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’s cast included (L-R): Kathryn Hahn, Madelyn Cline, Edward Norton, Leslie Odom Jr, and Kate Hudson
The second Knives Out film received a one-week theatrical run in theaters, opening with $9.4 million and ending its run with $13.2 million before heading to the Netflix streaming service
In March 2021, Netflix acquired the rights for two Knives Out sequels for $469 million.
On Friday, the streaming service took to its Tudum site to also confirm the third film and share some plot details.
Netflix wrote: ‘That’s right, Daniel Craig is back as the suave Southern investigator in ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’, a new installment 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 cast of suspects.”
