‘Wake Up Deadโ Man’ Ignites TIFFโข wiht Star โPower and Gothic Mystery
TORONTO -โ Rian Johnson’s highly anticipated third installment in the “Knives โฃOut” series, “Wake Up Dead Man,” โpremiered atโ the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, delivering a raucous debut filled with familiar wit and a darker, more enterprisingโ narrative.The film, starring Daniel Craig asโฃ Benoit Blanc, boasts anโข ensemble โcast including โขJosh O’Connor, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Daryl mccormack, Andrewโข Scott, Kerry Washington, Thomas Haden Church, and Cailee spaeny.
The premiereโ marks a significant moment for โฃthe franchise, which began as a surprise hit with Lionsgate in 2019, grossing $312 million worldwide, beforeโ Netflixโฃ acquired the sequels for $400 million.While Netflix has largely โfocused on streaming, it gave “Glass Onion: โฃKnives Out 2” a limited theatrical release inโ 2022, grossing an estimated $15 million in its first โคweek across 696 theaters. “Wake Up Dead Man”โ willโ follow a similar strategy, opening in select theaters on November 26 for a two-week run before debuting on Netflix December โ12.
Johnson, reflecting on the evolution of the series,โ noted the parallels โคto the premieresโ of his first two mysteries.He described “Wake up Dead Man” as a return to the roots โขof the genre, drawing โฃinspiration from Edgar Allan Poe, John โDickson Carr, โคand G.K. Chesterton’s Father โBrown mysteries. “The first one was kind of a cozy, Agatha Christieโค family โคmystery. Theโ second one was aโข big blow-out vacation mystery. and with this third one, we’re going back โฃto the rootsโข of the genre,” Johnson said.
The film โcenters on a murder case involving โฃaโ local church, exploring themes of truth, lies, and grace. Cast membersโค expressed enthusiasm forโค joining the โฃ”Knives Out” universe,with Jeremy Renner calling it “like winningโข the lottery” and Kerry Washington comparing โit to joining an all-star team. Daniel Craig,โ acknowledging the challenge of managing โthe large cast, quipped, “Putting this many stars into one film is literally like herding โฃcats.”
