Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

"He works in mysterious ways."

2025 2h 25m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 2,945

ThrillerMysteryComedy

Synopsis

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When young priest Jud Duplenticy is sent to assist charismatic firebrand Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, it’s clear that all is not well in the pews. After a sudden and seemingly impossible murder rocks the town, the lack of an obvious suspect prompts local police chief Geraldine Scott to join forces with renowned detective Benoit Blanc to unravel a mystery that defies all logic.

“He works in mysterious ways.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Daniel Craig
Benoit Blanc
Josh O'Connor
Fr. Jud Duplenticy
Glenn Close
Martha Delacroix
Josh Brolin
Mons. Jefferson Wicks
Mila Kunis
Chief Geraldine Scott
Jeremy Renner
Dr. Nat Sharp
Kerry Washington
Vera Draven, Esq.
Andrew Scott
Lee Ross

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rian Johnson
Writers: Rian Johnson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Budget of $210M — blockbuster tier. Only ~1% of films ever made reach this.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 2% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Knives Out Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rian Johnson, shot by Steve Yedlin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nathan Johnson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bob Ducsay shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Daniel Craig and Josh O'Connor and Glenn Close carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rian Johnson directs. Steve Yedlin behind the camera. Nathan Johnson scores. Bob Ducsay cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Budget of $210M — blockbuster tier. Only ~1% of films ever made reach this.
2Earned back only 2% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released last year.
4Part of the "Knives Out Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Rian Johnson, shot by Steve Yedlin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Nathan Johnson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Bob Ducsay shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Daniel Craig and Josh O'Connor and Glenn Close carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "He works in mysterious ways.".
10IMDB entry: tt14364480 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "dark comedy", "sequel", "whodunit", "murder investigation".
12Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Steve Yedlin
Original score: Nathan Johnson
Editing: Bob Ducsay
Production design: Rick Heinrichs
Costume design: Jenny Eagan
Makeup / hair: Jeremy Woodhead
VFX supervisor: Julius Lechner
Sound: Stephen Urata
Stunt coordinator: Roy Taylor
Runtime: 145 min · 2h 25m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.78:1 (16:9)
Status: Released
Budget: $210,000,000
Box office: $4,000,000
Return: 2% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

Part of

Knives Out Collection

Knives Out is a franchise of mystery-comedy films featuring detective Benoit Blanc as he investigates complex cases across different settings. Each movie blends sharp wit, clever storytelling, and a star-studded cast, offering a fresh take on the classic whodunnit genre with modern flair and unexpected twists.

Also by

Rian Johnson

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2025-10-08
★ 8/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/wake-up-dead-man-review/ "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery exceeds expectations by diving into a darker register without losing the layers of humor and captivating mystery that define the franchise. The howdunnit mechanics become unnecessarily complex before the climax, but given the brilliance of the whydunnit — exceptional character work and rich thematic exploration — every minute is a valuable experience.The witty banter between Daniel Craig and Josh O'Connor, coupled with the depth of their discussion on what it means to "believe," is one of many proofs in this sequel that a whodunnit doesn't need to be perfect to be a resounding success. Rian Johnson offers a worthy continuation of the saga, surpassing expectations by delving into a somber register. The truth may be winding, but in this mystery, faith and forgiveness are the biggest plot twists of all." Rating: A-
CinemaSerf2025-12-11
★ 7/10
Pugilistic priest “Fr. Jud” (Josh O’Connor) has lost his temper with a deacon and been consigned to a remote country parish where his plain-speaking bishop (Jeffrey Wright) hopes he can do less damage. Upon his arrival, though, he realises that this is quite an eccentric little congregation led by the mildly megalomaniacal “Monsignor” (Josh Brolin) and his ever so slightly menacing factotum “Martha” (Glenn Close). The new arrival isn’t universally welcome, especially when he tries to impose his own more religious approach to parish affairs, and then somewhat out of the blue, the older churchman is mysteriously killed. Of course, “Jud” is the obvious suspect but the arrival of the Poirot-esque “Benoit Blanc” (Daniel Craig) to help with the investigation soon reveals that just about anyone from this tightly knit community had some sort of axe to grind. It also transpires that there’s a missing eighty million dollar fortune, a bit of illegitimacy, a secret romance and even an acid bath to be factored in, too! It’s Cluedo on steroids! Brolin reminded me of Kris Kristofferson the whole way through as his behaviour gets wackier and more manipulative and he does gel well with an O’Connor who’s clearly having some fun as the plot thickens nicely, and suitably convolutedly. I could have done with a little more from Miss Close, and neither Andrew Scott nor Jeremy Renner really have enough of the plot either, but the writing and pacing of this quirky and personality-driven mystery keeps it quite enthralling in the best tradition of Agatha Christie as it mixes some good old fashioned detective work with some provocative religiosity; technical wizardry and even a little biblical mythology. Don’t be put off by it’s lengthy duration, it’s the best of these “Knives Out” tales so far.
Chandler Danier2025-12-28
★ 7/10
Man oh man. Christianity is making a comeback. Let’s all listen to holy men say holy things for the whole runtime. The mystery is stupidly mysterious. The whole thing feels sloppy but I found the slop a little more welcoming than the last one. The false endings ignore a recently explained giant piece of evidence. Like it’s not a mystery as there’s no way to solve and it isn’t a mystery when the film is misleading you. But I found it more fun than lots of stuff I’ve seen. Murdoch could out-detective this guy any day of the week.