The third film in the Knives Out universe shifts sharply from the broad comedy of Glass Onion, diving into themes of faith, doubt, and who we trust with our deepest secrets. During a conversation with Gayety’s Caitlynn McDaniel, director Rian Johnson explained why he wanted to steer the franchise somewhere more personal.
“The second movie, it was exactly what we wanted to make it. It was kind of a big, fun kind of comedic, broad movie,” Johnson said. “And then with this one… it would be nice to kind of ground this third one just to change it up. For me, that meant making it personal and that led me to wanting to make it kind of about faith. It’s something that’s really personal to me.
“I grew up very Christian and I’m not at all anymore, and so I have lots of very deep and complex feelings about it.”
That shift places Benoit Blanc — already confirmed as queer in Glass Onion — inside a church that becomes central to the film’s emotional core. And according to Daniel Craig, that church wasn’t real at all.
“The church… it was a set, it’s a built set,” Craig said. “Steve Allen, our brilliant DOP with Ryan, we wanted to feel the light, the sun either coming out of cloud, moving around the building… the stained glass and everything. It was thought out to the absolute detail… to illustrate the drama of the scene.”
Walking onto the finished set, Craig said it was “a thing of beauty,” and once the lighting team got to work, “it sort of explodes in glory.”
Of course, Knives Out wouldn’t be Knives Out without a little mischief — or a hypothetical body to hide. When asked who from the ensemble they’d trust with a confession (or to, you know, bury a body), both Johnson and Craig didn’t hesitate.
“I feel like Glen Close has probably buried a body or two in her storied career,” Johnson joked.
Craig doubled down: “Glen’s got land as well… I’m thinking pragmatically.”
The pair also revealed one of Craig’s improvised lines that tragically didn’t survive the final cut:
“Well butter my buns and call me a biscuit. I think this is a bingo.”
“For some stupid reason, it’s not in the movie anymore,” Craig laughed.
With rich themes, a queer detective at the heart of the storm, dreamlike lighting, and a mystery steeped in questions of faith and truth, Wake Up Dead Man is the boldest evolution of the Benoit Blanc universe yet.
And if Craig and Johnson are already debating who has enough acreage to hide a body… this film is about to get delicious.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery hits theaters on November 26 before streaming on Netflix December 12.
