Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc thrills amongst a star-cast in the first Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery trailer

A thunderclap echoes over a gothic church, its stained-glass windows casting eerie shadows as Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc steps into frame, his Southern drawl sharp with purpose. The first trailer for the forthcoming Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, revealed at the Toronto International Film Festival, followed by the official trailer debut via Netflix on September 8, 2025, immerses an audience in Rian Johnson's most famous whodunit to date. The third Knives Out film is set to open in theatres on November 26 and will be available on Netflix beginning December 12, 2025.

Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc anchors Wake Up Dead Man with a performance that’s both commanding and vulnerable. Sporting longer hair, stunning shades, and a tailored three-piece suit, Craig looks no less flamboyant than in Glass Onion. In his third turn as the detective, Craig elevates Blanc beyond his Bond legacy, earning raves for a career-best role.

“How lucky am I to get to play something like this? That's all I can think of when I think about this character. “I mean, I've played James Bond and now I'm suddenly playing Benoit Blanc. It's dumb luck. I'm very lucky.”

Wake Up Dead Man trailer breakdown: A murder steeped in mystery

The  90-second trailer opens with church bells and an ambiguous man walking towards it, accompanied by a haunting organ chord—a grim prelude to the crime. Benoit Blanc’s voiceover declares,

“This murder was dressed as a miracle. To understand this case, we need to look at the myth that’s being constructed.”

The scene shifts to Josh Brolin’s Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, a charismatic priest, who strides mid-sermon into a sealed concrete box, a “prayer chamber,” as parishioners watch. 

Thirty seconds later, a scream of Martha Delacroix pierces the silence—Wicks is dead, stabbed, with no entry or exit. The trailer cuts to a coffin being carried, a pair of suspicious eyes, and a congregation in chaos. Quick flashes introduce suspects: Josh O’Connor’s Jud Duplenticy, a young priest, trembling with guilt; Mila Kunis’s police chief Geraldine Scott staring at the crime scene with steely resolve. 

Other glimpses— Jeremy Renner’s Dr. Nat Sharp questions the truth and whether any of these exist, with Andrew Scott and Kerry Washington looking equally tense and terrified. In teaser’s final image we see glimpses of all possible suspects, a chorus warning to “confess”. And towards the end of this holy mystery, we see Blanc and Rev. Jud Duplenticy interrogate the suspects responsible for the murder of Monsignor Wicks. The gothic visuals and pulsing score amplify the stakes, leaving fans buzzing over its clues.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery sees a star-studded parade of suspects

Rian Johnson, writing, directing, and producing with Ram Bergman, assembles a dream ensemble. Daniel Craig in his role as Benoit Blanc, a private investigator, and Josh O'Connor's Rev Jud Duplenticy, a fidgety priest, give off guilt in spades. Glenn Close's Martha Delacroix, a church matriarch, hides menace behind piety. Mila Kunis's Geraldine Scott, a no-nonsense chief.

Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church play a lawyer, doctor, journalist, choir singer, aspiring politician, and groundskeeper -in order  and all with their own ulterior motives. Johnson's script has been declared, at TIFF, "fiendishly clever" and establishes a continually uneasy setting where any look or stare is fair game, as the cast contributes to watching the web of deceit unfold in the parish area. 

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will have a limited theatrical release on November 26, 2025, before becoming available for all fans to stream on Netflix on December 12, 2025. 

Stay tuned for more such updates!