Prior to Tudum 2025, Netflix began releasing some mysterious teasers. Following the event, a date announcement trailer was released, confirming a December 2025 Netflix release, character identities, and other details.
Every indication suggested that you wouldn’t want to miss the murder-mystery threequel. “Wake Up Dead Man” has been accessible to watch in theaters, but this Friday, December 12, it will finally be released on Netflix. Initial reviews from critics were overwhelmingly good, with the film currently holding a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here is all we currently know about “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” ahead of its Netflix premiere. Although “Wake Up Dead Man” debuted in cinemas on November 26, 2025, it will soon be accessible to audiences at home.
In a date announcement teaser released at Tudum 2025, the release date was eventually confirmed (using Roman numerals). You can view the teaser on Netflix’s YouTube account, but we’ve included it further down in this post because it contains character and plot details we’ll be discussing.
In the interim, do you need something fresh to stream? For more puzzles to keep you occupied in the lead-up to “Knives Out 3,” check out our list of the top 7 films, which includes “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion.” According to Rian Johnson, the film’s production officially started on June 10, 2024. This statement was accompanied by the first glimpse of Daniel Craig dressed as Benoit Blanc. Benoit Blanc has a new hairstyle in this chic photo. We discovered that the project’s filming ended in August 2024 thanks to another social media post. With a black-and-white photo of a sign at a cemetery and the brief comment, “Aaaaaand that’s a wrap on “Wake Up Dead Man,” Rian Johnson verified the news on Instagram. Awaken, Dead Man The third movie in writer-director Rian Johnson’s Benoit Blanc mystery trilogy, after Knives Out and Glass Onion, is (I’m now rightfully dumping that idiotic A Knives Out Mystery subtitle Netflix is imposing upon us). With his portrayal of Agatha Christie’s renowned literary detective Hercule Poirot in 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, Kenneth Branagh attempted to revitalize the mystery detective thriller genre, but Rian Johnson outperformed him two years later by developing a completely original character!
In Knives Out, Daniel Craig’s Southern drawl and sophisticated, cool swagger made him an immediate hit with viewers as he investigated a collection of suspects played by a diverse mix of well-known and renowned actors. Thankfully, Wake Up Dead Man is every bit as entertaining, fascinating, and witty as Benoit Blanc’s previous two projects. It’s amazing how skillfully Rian Johnson creates these complex murder mysteries with so many interconnected characters, situations, and narrative strands that all fit together in an oddly logical way. Even though Wake Up Dead Man is undoubtedly the most intricately structured Benoit Blanc mystery to date, Johnson nevertheless manages to condense it such that, in the end, the audience can understand it all.
From a distance, it looks like a tangled web, yet up close, you can see all the intricate details holding it together. Wake Up Dead Man stands out from the other two due to its religious theme. In Wake Up Dead Man, Josh Brolin’s portrayal of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks effectively illustrates the influence and power that organized religion bestows upon those who desire it, whereas in other episodes, we witnessed how wealth and family ties purchase influence and power. He controls his parish and church with an iron grip, taking advantage of their transgressions and vices for personal benefit. Brolin’s charisma and authority are perfectly balanced, making it easy to understand how this power-hungry man came to be. This still holds true for Wake Up Dead Man, albeit I felt that some of the players here were more understanding of how Wicks had used or controlled them. Wicks is the first time we feel like we’ve had a truly nasty opponent in this franchise, even if he’s the titular victim. These films will always feature some sort of “bad guy” who kills people.
The majority of the rich people in the first two movies were either self-centered or greedy, and their morals varied. Rian Johnson has always had religion on his mind, even if he is by no means a filmmaker with a single passion. The filmmaker of the movies “Brick,” “The Brothers Bloom,” “Looper,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Knives Out,” and “Glass Onion” has a long-standing interest in dissecting different genres to uncover more profound insights about the characters at their core. In the third and finest movie in the Knives Out series, “Wake Up Dead Man,” which is currently playing in a few theaters and will be available on Netflix on December 12, he considers religion by examining not only death but also what it means to a person of faith in 2025. In this instance, the character is Josh O’Connor’s Father Jud, a kind and endearing young man struggling with a difficult history. His faith will be put to the test when he is transferred to a new parish after punching out a nasty deacon. There, he will serve under the despotic Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), who is in charge of a difficult group of parishioners alongside his devoted second-in-command, Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close). Jud must collaborate with the now-famous Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) in order to clear his name and make amends for everyone he can after death takes over the cathedral and he is made the main suspect. Even while “Wake Up Dead Man” has a superb ensemble cast, characters like Bridget Everett’s Louise, who enter the movie and compound the experience in an unexpected but profoundly touching way, may be the source of both Jud’s redemption and the answers to the mystery. The movie increasingly focuses on the moments when we stand back from the expertly crafted murder mystery to consider the wider issue. Though it’s also about uncovering what the movie refers to as a “road to Damascus” revelation, or the reason you’re here in a world that’s descending into darkness, Johnson still weaves many smart twists and humorous quips.

“Thank you to the most talented cast and the world’s best crew.