‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Protagonist and Details Revealed

Thanks to renowned scooper and online presence ViewerAnon, who claims to have read the script for Wake Up Dead Man, we are now privy to a few more details and have a better idea of the tone of the movie.

According to the scooper, Johnson listened to the complaints to the sequel Glass Onion and has shifted the narrative structure around for this one – all three of the Knives Out movies follow a different formula and play to a different tune, and it’s very interesting that Johnson refuses to adhere to conventions or formulas that could become repetitive with murder mysteries and instead truly pays homage to classics such as the Agatha Christie novels, which include entirely different stories, tones and characters in each book.

VA claims that the story is a “little darker, a tiny bit more spooky” and compares it to “scooby-doo territory,” hinting at a spooky and sinister background, maybe even touching on a slight supernatural or fake-supernatural narrative but always fronted by comedic and unserious performances, which is one of the best aspects of these movies – that it doesn’t take itself too seriously even though the subject matter could be seen in such a way. 

As well as this, he also states that the story is more “lived-in” this time around and that you get to spend more time with the characters before a murder mystery is even thought about. He claims that Benoit Blanc is not even introduced in the movie until around 20-30 minutes in, meaning that there must be a very lengthy introduction that allows us to familiarise ourselves with the roster of characters that’ll be appearing. This is probably the best upgrade Johnson can make following Glass Onion, which received complaints of moving too quickly or being too packed with its ensemble, which meant that most of the characters didn’t get to be fleshed out aside from the main one. With that seemingly being different here, this could show that Johnson is aiming for a more character-driven approach and taking it back to more of the tone and dynamics we saw in the first Knives Out.

Fans already had their guesses and predictions for the tone based on the title alone, which hinted at the darker tone and perhaps already at some elements of resurrection. However, what is perhaps most interesting from VA’s statements is his statement that Josh O’Connor will be playing the lead of the movie, taking on the narrative role previously held by Ana De Armas and Janelle Monae. His character’s name is Father Jud, and as we’ve already seen from leaked set photos, he appears to be playing a priest, so spiritual/otherworldly connections are not off the table. 

As well as this, we also know Josh Brolin to be playing another priest called Father Fran,k and with the officially released stills and set photos, we can see that a big church and its surrounding area play a big part in this story – it appears as if we are going to get a lite Conclave sequel before the first one has even left the public mind. This setup for priest fighting and backstabbing, as well as faith-based judgment and questioning, sets Wake Up Dead Man apart from the other Knives Out movies and gives it a fresh identity, which fans will surely be looking forward to seeing unfold.

With a star-studded cast that might be the best the franchise has seen and Daniel Craig returning as the eccentric detective Benoit Blanc, anticipation is sky-high, especially given how Glass Onion expanded the franchise’s scale and style.

Wake Up Dead Man is directed by Rian Johnson and stars Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Cailee Spaeny, and more. The film is due to release in the fall of 2025.

Thanks for reading this article on the first details for Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man. For more news, stay tuned here at Feature First.