Movies News Talk
Branagh's Poirot trilogy was cut short by the Halloween Party adaption A Haunting in Venice, hence the first hint of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery pays a sneaky allusion to the Murder Mystery films directed or acted upon. With scruffy blonde hair and stubble, Craig's persona appears suspiciously familiar as Johnson turned to X (previously Twitter) to show viewers an early teaser for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Now Craig's Benoit Blanc resembles Kenneth Branagh's two Harry Potter films, Much Ado About Nothing, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and many other early parts.
Ironically, Craig's Blanc looks nothing like Branagh's Poirot since the actor shaved his beard and cut his hair to fit Christie's character description. Though Branagh's Poirot films have come to an end, The Thursday Murder Club's next remake poses more competition for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Luckily, Johnson's hilarious new style for Craig's well-known investigator suggests that the director isn't concerned about the Knives Out franchise running alongside a competitor mystery series. Blanc's new appearance does, after all, gently honor Branagh and, so, his Poirot films.
Given a competing murder mystery series just finished its trilogy with a film office success, the disclosure of Daniel Craig's new Knives Out 3 look couldn't be more ironic. The classic murder mystery formula of Agatha Christie was revived in the twenty-first century in 2019 with Director Rian Johnson's Knives Out Daniel Craig's campy Benoit Blanc pays homage to Christie's legendary detective Hercule Poirot, therefore subverting the whodunit plot structure in the light of playfulness. While the forthcoming Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery promises more thrills, 2022's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery sees Blanc investigate another case.
But other franchises beyond Johnson's Benoit Blanc also pique curiosity in the category Agatha Christie so famously dominated. Adapting classic Christie books like Murder On The Orient Express, Death On The Nile, and Hallowe's Party, Kenneth Branagh's Poirot films presented a more conventional approach to the Murder Mystery sub-genre. Although the first two of these tales had already been on film decades ago, Branagh nonetheless decided to assemble a remarkably starry cast to explore the venerable Poirot riddles. Remarkably, both of these rival series performed well for viewers and critics.
Though Rian Johnson's Benoit Blanc films contain flaws, the series has mainly received positive reviews. Branagh's Poirot films also were box office successes despite Knives Out' opposition. Two quite different approaches help to explain their concurrent success. Leaning into the period trappings of the source material, Branagh adapted famous Christie's back catalog novels. By contrast, the Knives Out films deliberately modernize their locales, narratives, characters, and technique. While Branagh's Poirot films were more sentimental and conventional, viewers can be confident Knives Out 3 will be as relevant and modern as its forebears.
The title of the film raises interesting issues for various different reasons. From their 1989 album "Steel Wheels," the band The Rolling Stones boasts a somewhat well-known song called "Wake Up Dead Man." Given the prevalence of rock music in previous editions, this could point to a rock-n-roll theme or could be merely a fortuitous occurrence.
Not yet any information has been leaked suggesting how closely the title will be connected with the band; it could be some time before the movie's plot is revealed in any more exact clarity. Still, the movie's concept probably follows the formula of the first two films. Rian Johnson's work on the franchise has continuously shown his ability to craft intriguing puzzles and ensemble cast of suspects. By 2025 it should be an exciting release.
Following 2019's Knives Out and 2022's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, both of which got Academy Award nominations for Best Screenplay, writer-director Rian Johnson is working on a third whodunit focused on Benoit Blanc, the eccentric detective of Daniel Craig. Recently, Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla, Civil War) and Challengers star Josh O'Connor joined the Knives Out 3 ensemble as first new members.
Now, not long after O'Connor and Spaeny boarded, the Knives Out 3 ensemble is still growing. Andrew Scott is the most recent actor hired for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, said Variety. Although his character is yet unknown, filming should start shortly before 2025's release date.