Rian Johnson says he was in a ‘dark place’ while writing Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
The first two Knives Out films were packed with clever humour, star-studded casts, but the third film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, takes the story to a deeper and emotional zone. According to Director Rian Johnson and actor Josh O’Connor, this instalment focuses on the themes of religion, belief, and crisis of faith.
Releasing on December 12 on Netflix, the film follows detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, who investigates the mysterious death of a priest in a small catholic community. Josh Brolin plays the role of the victim, whereas Josh O’Connor will be seen playing the role of a young priest, who becomes the prime suspect in the case.
Rian Johnson’s personal link to the story
As per Straits Times, at a New York screening, Johnson shared that the film’s idea began after a conversation with Daniel Craig. They wanted the third film to feel “more grounded” and more personal than Glass Onion. Johnson decided to explore themes of religion because of his own past.
“I grew up very Christian and I’m not a believer anymore,” he said. “My relationship with Christ shaped my identity when I was young, so today my feelings about it are very deep and complicated.”
Johnson admitted that writing this script was emotionally difficult. He said he was in a “dark place” while trying to express all sides of his thoughts on faith through the characters. Despite the challenge, he wanted to bring these themes into the Knives Out universe.
He said, “I was really in a dark place when I was writing it. This was a very hard script to write because I was aiming to take this thing that I have deep but conflicted feelings about, and try and represent all the different sides of myself in the characters.”
Daniel Craig helps shape the debate
Daniel Craig also influenced the film’s direction. He encouraged Johnson to make the central debate between the atheist detective and the believing priest even stronger.
Craig believed that “the better the argument from both sides, the stronger their relationship would be.” This helped create one of the film’s most powerful scenes. “There’s a journey for him in this movie that I don’t think exists in the first two, and I think that was probably the key,” Craig said.
Early reviews on Rotten Tomatoes praise the film for its bold approach. With its mix of mystery, emotional depth, and honest exploration of faith, Wake Up Dead Man marks a thoughtful new chapter for the Knives Out series. The film will premiere on Netflix on December 12.
