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Knives Out 3 Features A Brand New Look For Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc

Daniel Craig in Wake Up Dead Man Netflix
By Ben Pearson

Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc is looking dapper as hell in this new look at "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery," Rian Johnson's latest murder mystery that continues the adventures of the private detective after "Knives Out" and "Glass Onion." The topline instant takeaway is obviously that Blanc has much longer hair than he's had in the previous two films (naturally, Craig looks fantastic), and that new look could potentially signal a new attitude or maybe even a whole new worldview for this character. Could a shaggier-haired Blanc be a bit more laid back and bohemian this time around? Perhaps he's been hanging out with his pal Derol from "Glass Onion" in between movies and taken some life lessons from the amiable slacker.

As for the title, we've previously noted that "Knives Out" got its title from a Radiohead song, "Glass Onion" took its name from a Beatles tune, and "Wake Up Dead Man" is a U2 song from the band's 1997 album, "Pop." In an interview with Netflix's Tudum, Johnson provided a brief hint about that connection, saying, "'Pop' is a very underrated album, and that song is very right for the title. But I've had 'Wake Up Dead Man' in my head for a long while, and I first heard the phrase in American folk music." Could the folk reference mean Blanc's next mystery might be something more provincial than his previous exploits? Or — and I fully admit this is probably reading way too much into things — is Blanc standing in front of a typical soundstage in this image, or could it actually be a theater stage? If so, it would support a theory that /Film's BJ Colangelo has been championing for a little while: That "Wake Up Dead Man" could be set around the production of a stage musical. Netflix has confirmed the production has begun in London, which obviously has a world-class theatre scene, so the pieces could be coming together here to confirm BJ's theory.

Wake Up Dead Man's cast is outstanding

Tudum laid out the entire confirmed cast of "Wake Up Dead Man," and quoted Johnson as saying, "We've been very lucky with each of these movies to have gathered some of my favorite actors on the planet, and that's absolutely the case here. They're also all lovely folks who get along, which is the dinner party aspect of it. When you're making an ensemble movie like this I think that's key."

The participants in the metaphorical (or literal?) dinner party this time will be Craig reprising his role as Benoit Blanc, Josh O'Connor ("Challengers"), Glenn Close ("Fatal Attraction"), Josh Brolin ("No Country for Old Men"), Mila Kunis ("Black Swan"), Jeremy Renner ("The Bourne Legacy"), Kerry Washington ("Scandal"), Andrew Scott ("All of Us Strangers"), Cailee Spaeny ("Civil War"), Daryl McCormack ("Good Luck to You, Leo Grande"), and Thomas Haden Church ("Sideways"). We have an excellent breakdown of the entire "Wake Up Dead Man" cast here, in case you're looking for more info about any of these talented actors.

There's also been plenty of speculation — including from us — about the nature of Jeremy Renner's role, considering he was referenced in "Glass Onion" as being the creator of a small-batch hot sauce. It's still unclear if Renner will be showing up as himself in "Wake Up Dead Man," but Johnson spoke a bit about Renner's involvement with this sequel:

"Jeremy's a great actor who I've wanted to work with for a long time. I was very relieved he thought the hot sauce thing was funny! He's playing a proper part in this one, we'll keep the sauce off screen. Maybe we'll sneak a few bottles onto the catering table."

"Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" will stream on Netflix in 2025.

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