A detective's work is never done. Once one murder is solved there are multiple more, which is great news for Knives Out fans as the escapades of Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc are seemingly endless. Armed with Southern charm, an imaginative vernacular and impeccable taste in swimwear, Blanc has held our hand through two convoluted murders at this point, first in 2019's Knives Out, second in 2022's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. And now, a third, Wake Up Dead Man, has been slated for release in 2025.
But a great threequel is nothing without a great cast. Both Knives Out and Glass Onion were bursting at the seams with perfectly-cast ensembles (Jamie Lee Curtis! Kate Hudson! Ethan Hawke!). Thankfully, the Knives Out 3 cast has now been announced and it is, arguably the best yet. With a delicious blend of legacy talent and fresh faces (a formula employed by the previous two films), the names that have been revealed thus far basically resemble the wish-lists that were floating around beforehand anyway.
To that end, alongside our man Craig as Benoit Blanc, here are all the names that have been announced for Wake Up Dead Man (check back for updates).
Josh O’Connor
He's the man of the moment. The hot rodent boyfriend of our dreams. Fresh off the back of Challengers and La Chimera, 34-year-old Josh O'Connor was officially announced for the cast in late May. It'll mark the first time he's appeared in a Hollywood film with a capital ‘H’ – indie cinema's favourite weirdo has officially flow the nest. James Bond next?
Glenn Close
A Knives Out wouldn't be a Knives Out without an elder Hollywood heavyweight, and for Wake Up Dead Man, that role will come in the shape of Glenn Close. Millennials might know her best for being everyone's crush / sleep paralysis demon Cruella de Vil in the 101 Dalmatians films, but she's also been in, well, hundreds of others films and TV shows, from Albert Nobbs (2011) to The Wife (2017), which earned her a third Golden Globe.
Cailee Spaeny
In a similar vein to White Lotus, the Knives Out films have historically been very good at concocting the perfect blend of huge Hollywood names (see again: Glenn Close) and up-and-comers teetering on the edge of major success. 25-year-old Cailee Spaeny – who's appeared in Priscilla, Civil War and the upcoming Alien: Romulus – fits into the second category. If this was the 1950s, she'd be all over the society pages! But it's 2024, so she's in the Wake Up Dead Man cast.
Andrew Scott
Oh, how far the Hot Priest has climbed. Andrew Scott has never once given us a role that is expected or predictable throughout his entire career and now he'll be flying the flag for Ireland in Knives Out 3. Following Netflix’s Ripley, might this be his second foray into villainy? We'll have to wait and see.
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis can do it all. Thrillers (Black Swan), romance (Friends With Benefits), comedy (Ted). Fortunately, the Knives Out films tend to be a mix of all three, with a bit of mystery and gore thrown in for good measure. This also won't be first time she's starred opposite Close – the pair appeared in Four Good Days in 2020, with Kunis as Close's heroin-addicted daughter and Close as her long, long-suffering mother. Wake Up Dead Man probably won't be that dark, but who's to say.
Josh Brolin
Josh Brolin (Dune: Part Two, Avengers, No Country For Old Men) has one of those wizened, all-American faces that can play “villain” or “hero” with equal believability, so it'll be interesting to see what path he takes in Wake Up Dead Man. We've also got another Marvel alum on the list (scroll down for more), so maybe they'll reprise their roles as adversaries.
Daryl McCormack
Known the world over for owning humankind's dreamiest eyes, McCormack is the second Irish actor to be added to this already intensely stacked cast (they ought to invite Paul Mescal and make it a trifecta). Apart from his eyes, he’s also known for appearing in all of your favourite TV shows, from Bad Sisters to Peaky Blinders and The Woman in the Wall. Is this the year that McCormack properly breaks Hollywood? He's appearing in the upcoming Twisters, too, so probably.
Kerry Washington
Here's what we know about Kerry Washington: she's appeared Scandal, Django Unchained and Little Fires Everywhere. She's been nominated for a gazillion awards. And she often plays smart, switched-on types that you don't want to fuck with. Is it bad that we low-key want her to be the killer?
Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner has always been good at physical, in-your-face action movie acting: Avengers. Mission Impossible. 28 Weeks Later. So when, in 2023, he had a serious accident involving a snow plough that rendered him mostly unable to walk, those types of roles were obviously sort of up in the air. Wake Up Dead Man will mark his first foray back into film since the accident, and what a way to return to the screen, baby!
