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Good news, ‘Knives Out’ fans! ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ hits theaters before Netflix and it's just around the corner

In a surprising addition, Jeremy Renner joins the star-studded cast of ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’, playing Dr. Nat

Daniel Craig is all set to return as detective Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’. After saving Marta Cabrera (played by Ana de Armas) from being falsely implicated in the murder of novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) in the 2019 movie ‘Knives Out’, and untangling a convoluted thread to uncover a double murder committed by a billionaire in the sequel, ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’,  the latest addition to the franchise will see Blanc pursue an “impossible” crime, dressed “as a miracle.”

The first ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ poster released by Netflix shows Craig peering into an open grave surrounded by the suspects. A gothic church-like structure and an overcast sky add to the gloom; a first look at the poster leaves viewers with a sense that something dark, mysterious, and magical is about to unfold. The synopsis of the movie, too, establishes this feeling, stating that Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is returning in the “third and darkest chapter of Rian Johnson’s murder mystery opus.”

The ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ plotline revolves around a young priest, Jud Duplenticy (played by Josh O’Connor), who is accused of murder. Blanc believes Duplenticy is innocent. The young priest’s past, however, has a dark secret. Initially a boxer known for his temper, Duplenticy is sent to a remote New York parish whose sole priest is Monseigneur Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin).

Wicks, described as a “charismatic firebrand” in the synopsis, is not a well-liked person inside the parish. A bitter and influential man, Wicks's fury is rooted in his resentment of his mother, whom he calls the "Harlot Whore." She sought her father’s mysterious fortune, which he likened to the forbidden fruit from the “Garden of Eden”. Wicks and Duplenticy share a strained relationship, with the latter often torturing the former boxer with highly detailed confessions about his masturbation habits.

To add to Duplenticy’s troubles, the church sees him as an outsider and doesn’t hesitate to connect with a Satanically themed weapon used to commit a gruesome murder in a storage closet during Good Friday service. The other suspects Blanc would be scanning include Wicks’ disciples Dr. Nat (Jeremy Renner), Simone (Cailee Spaeny), sci-fi author Lee (Andrew Scott), lawyer Vera (Kerry Washington), and Vera’s failed politician “son” Cy (Daryl McCormack). Groundskeeper Samson (Thomas Haden Church) and the church’s jack-of-all-trades Martha (Glenn Close), too, invite reason for suspicion.

“After a sudden and seemingly impossible murder rocks the town, the lack of an obvious suspect prompts local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) to join forces with renowned detective Benoit Blanc to unravel a mystery that defies all logic,” the film’s synopsis reads. Notably, the movie received an overwhelming response at its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 6. 

“To be doing this third one, to be here with these people, with this cast, I mean, it’s the best. I can’t wait to show the movie,” Johnson had said before the premiere, as per Variety.  “We made it with no ambition whatsoever. Just let’s do the best movie we can. And it became something, and then here we are,” Craig said. ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ hits theaters on November 26, before landing on Netflix on December 12.