Every Knives Out 3 Cast Member Has One Thing In Common – And It Could Hint At The Plot

Before announcing the title of the third installment of his "Knives Out" series, writer/director Rian Johnson took to social media to say, "I love everything about whodunits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is." He continued by noting there's a "whole tonal spectrum from [John Dickson] Carr to [Agatha] Christie, and getting to explore that range is one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies." He also indicated that the title will give a "little hint" of where this next installment is going.

"Knives Out" is a reference to a Radiohead song, "Glass Onion" is, of course, The Beatles, and the upcoming third film, "Wake Up Dead Man," is a song by U2. With all of these titles serving as references to some of the greatest musicians to ever do it, and Johnson's use of "tonal spectrum" and "range" while describing a "malleable" genre, I've got a bit of a pipe dream fan theory about where "Wake Up Dead Man" is heading.

I think "Wake Up Dead Man" is going to be a murder mystery set during the production of a Broadway (or West End, whichever works) musical, and I've got two reasons to back up my claim: Rian Johnson is a well-documented Andrew Lloyd Webber fanboy, and everyone in the cast announced thus far can sing.

If I'm right, my demands are that Netflix allows me 20 minutes to chat with Rian Johnson about musicals. If I'm wrong ... hey, at least I had fun speculating.

Whenever someone talks about how "malleable" a genre is, that typically means they're about to take a massive swing with whatever it is they're doing. The "Knives Out" films already feel so theatrical with their sweeping ensemble casts, larger-than-life characters, and camp sense of humor, so Johnson leaning in hard and setting a murder mystery during a production of a musical fits perfectly into the world he's created for Benoit Blanc. "Wake Up Dead Man" is loaded with lyrics about Jesus, and do you know who wrote the greatest Jesus musical of all time? SIR ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER. Do you know who is one of the most well-documented ALW stans ever to grace the internet? RIAN JOHNSON.

For the record, the man just loves musicals in general.

Writer/editor Kayleigh Donaldson has been keeping track of Johnson's fandom for years now, like the time he said, "Also you can be 100% certain I don't actually possess a burner account because I would have definitely accidentally forgotten to switch to it and posted 'Cats' erotic fanfic to my main account by now," or when he declared, ​​"Let me make this clear: I will see 'Phantom of the Opera' anytime anywhere. If someone knocked on my door right now I would drop this phone and go see 'Phantom of the Opera.'"

This is to say that Johnson loves and appreciates the world of musicals, and it would not shock me in the slightest if "Knives Out 3" incorporated musical elements in some fashion. Can you imagine the drama of Benoit Blanc trying to make sense of a bunch of adults who are paid to lie (aka ACTING) for a profession? Can you imagine the melodrama of the big star being murdered just before opening night? Can you imagine Benoit Blanc's comeback to someone declaring "the show must go on" in the middle of an investigation? I've never needed anything more.

Further encouraging this theory is the fact that every person announced in the cast thus far can sing! Cailee Spaeny has been singing her entire life, and there are videos from her teen years doing musical theatre on YouTube, but she's also released pop songs like her single "Young Love." Josh O'Connor hasn't done much professional singing, but one of his earliest roles was in a school production of the musical "Bugsy Malone," which starred his classmate Tahliah Barnett aka FKA Twigs. Andrew Scott said in multiple interviews that he'd want to star in a musical (but lacks confidence), so a film that allows for multiple takes and editing could be the perfect place. And then there's Kerry Washington and Glenn Close, who can both sing their faces off. The latter has been gunning for a movie version of the "Sunset Boulevard" musical, written by ... you guessed it ... ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER!

There's also Noah Segan who hasn't been announced yet but will undoubtedly be returning since he's Johnson's good luck charm. While not known for his singing these days, he was in the Muppets' 1988 Play-Along Video release "Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along." Time to bust those skills back out, Noah!

*extreme Benoit Blanc voice* "The evidence is mounting..."

But most importantly, it fits thematically in the world of "Knives Out." Daniel Craig might be Benoit Blanc and James friggin' Bond, but he's also got a velvety sweet singing voice, as seen in "Infamous" when he sang the standard "There's a Gold Mine in the Sky" as made famous by Pat Boone and Bing Crosby. Hell, in the first "Knives Out" movie, Blanc sings "Losing My Mind/Not a Day Goes By" from "Sondheim" along to Bernadette Peters in the car. Not to mention, he's canonically friends with the late Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury, so we know the character loves himself a showtune! Am I grasping at straws here? Maybe. Have I let my desire for every series to eventually have a musical number overtake my common sense? Absolutely. But is this theory so out outside of the realm of possibility? I THINK NOT!

[Author's Note: Yes, I did watch "Only Murders in the Building" season 3. I do not care if it is similar, I want MORE!]