Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington and More Join ‘Knives Out 3’

Writer/director Rian Johnson is building the latest ensemble around the returning Daniel Craig, who plays detective Benoit Blanc as he digs into a new crime.

(Left) Kerry Washington stars in Hulu's 'UnPrisoned.' Photo: Kelsey McNeal/Hulu. (Center Left) Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye in Marvel Studios' 'Hawkeye.' Photo by Mary Cybulski. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved. (Center Right) Glenn Close in 'Fatal Attraction'. (Right) Photo: Paramount Pictures. Mila Kunis in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'. Photo: Universal Pictures.

Preview:

Jeremy Renner, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington and Mila Kunis are the latest additions to the third ‘Knives Out’ movie.
Rian Johnson is back to write and direct.
Josh O’Connor, Cailee Spaeny and Andrew Scott are already aboard.

Rian Johnson is known for building big ensembles to star in his ‘Knives Out’ movies, and the third, ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ is certainly keeping that tradition alive.

Recently, we learned that ‘Challengers’ Josh O’Connor and ‘Priscilla’s Cailee Spaeny are both aboard, with ‘All of Us Strangers’ Andrew Scott announced shortly after them.

Now we have three hefty new names. Deadline brings word that Jeremy Renner will make this his first movie job since his snow plough accident (he’s already been back at work on TV’s ‘Mayor of Kingstown’) while also according to Deadline, Kerry Washington, best known for ‘Scandal’, will be part of the cast. Deadline has also revealed that Mila Kunis ('Forgetting Sarah Marshall') has been added to the cast.

Oh, and so will Glenn Close (via The Hollywood Reporter), all likely among the suspects investigated by Daniel Craig’s genius detective Benoit Blanc. Johnson’s on a casting spree!

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

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Benoit Blanc returns in his most dangerous case yet. Read the Plot

What’s the story of ‘Knives Out’?

(L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer, Don Johnson and Michael Shannon in 'Knives Out'. Photo: Lionsgate.

Kicking off with the first, eponymous movie, the ‘Knives Out’ series began as Craig’s southern-fried investigator Blanc probed the secrets of the uptight, wealthy Thrombey clan after the mysterious death of patriarch Harlan (Christopher Plummer).

It featured the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette and Katherine Langford, alongside a breakout turn for Ana de Armas, who played Harlan’s nurse and came to factor much more deeply into the story.

Travelling far from the chilly Massachusetts mansion of the original, ‘Glass Onion’ found Blanc headed overseas.

(L to R) Kathryn Hahn, Madelyn Cline, Edward Norton, Leslie Odom Jr., and Kate Hudson in Netflix's 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.'

When tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) invites some of his nearest and dearest for a getaway on his private Greek island, it soon becomes clear that all is not perfect in paradise. And when someone turns up dead, who better than Blanc to peel back the layers of intrigue?

As well as Craig and Norton, the cast was once more stuffed with talent, including Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista.

What will happen in ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’?

Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc on the set of 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.'

As is befitting the new mystery, Johnson has yet to release any real details about the movie, so it’s a waiting game to see where Blanc ends up this time, and what he has to dig into.

It has only so far been described as his “most dangerous mystery yet.”

Who else will appear in ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’?

(Left) Josh O’Connor attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon MGM Studios’ 'Challengers' at Regency Village Theatre on April 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Stewart Cook/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios. (Right) Cailee Spaeny in 'Priscilla.' Credit: Sabrina Lantos.

While O’Connor, Spaeny, Scott and now Close, Renner, Kunis and Washington are confirmed cast members, there have been rumors about Tom Hardy and Lindsay Lohan being in talks for the movie.

And could Hugh Grant return as Phillip, Blanc’s husband, who we briefly see in ‘Glass Onion’?

We trust Johnson, but if we had a wishlist for the new movie, we’d include the likes of Jennifer Coolidge, Florence Pugh, Dev Patel and Godzilla.

When will ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ be on screens?

Netflix has yet to confirm a release date for the movie but given that Johnson is about to start he cameras rolling, we’d expect it to arrive in 2025. We’ll have to wait and see whether the company gives it a theatrical run (‘Glass Onion’ had a limited release before it hit the company’s servers).

(L to R) Jessica Henwick as Peg, Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc, and Janelle Monáe as Cassandra "Andi" Brand in 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.' Photo: Courtesy of John Wilson/Netflix © 2022.