RIAN JOHNSON REVEALS "LEAST INTERESTING" KNIVES OUT ASPECT AS WAKE UP DEAD MAN LANDS ON NETFLIX

While murder mystery fans love to scratch their heads at the Knives Out movies, Rian Johnson believes that finding the killer isn't always the most interesting element in a whodunit.

The writer-director sat down with Digital Spy to talk about Wake Up Dead Man, the third start-studded movie in the Benoit Blanc saga. With Daniel Craig returning as the detective, the action moves to Upstate New York, where a despotic Monsignor played by Josh Brolin is murdered on Good Friday.

As Wake Up Dead Man releases on Netflix today, Johnson explained how he'd approach a whodunnit as a viewer, and why these films make for a fun rewatch once all the cards are laid out.

"I think the best way to see the movie the first time is not knowing because it is manufactured for the thrill of the reveal a little bit," he said.

"It's more manufactured, though, hopefully to be even more entertaining if you do know [the killer] and are looking at the things that are in plain sight, but that you don't see the first time."

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Weighing in on the most "effective" elements of a whodunit, Johnson celebrated Agatha Christie, whose books are referenced in Wake Up Dead Man, for her ability to build a whole microcosm around a murder.

"I think my main approach with these things is just recognising that at the end of the day, the least interesting or effective or powerful thing about these movies, about any murder mystery, is whodunnit and the solution to that," he said.

Related: Wake Up Dead Man is the darkest Knives Out mystery yet – but still totally entertaining

"It's what makes Christie great is she'll build a story and characters that you actually care about and an ending that actually lands on another level."

Taking a page from Christie's book(s), Johnson cooks up a captivating mystery with Wake Up Dead Man, finding a compelling protagonist in Josh O'Connor's character, Father Jud.

Jud is one of the suspects in Wicks' murder alongside a whole flock of parishioners. Stars Andrew Scott and Daryl McCormack, who play Wicks' acolytes Lee Ross and Cy Draven, respectively, explained how Johnson directed them to throw some red herrings to the audience.

"Sometimes [Rian] asked us to give kind of variations on things because the pleasure for the audience is sort of suspecting everybody at different times," Scott told us. "So, yeah, it's all about giving him enough to collate, have all the options ready, so he can tell a story properly."

"I'd echo that, to be honest. You don't want your performance to be like, 'OK well he's definitely not the murderer', or you don't want it to be like, 'Well he's definitely the murderer'," McCormack agreed.

"So having that grey area, that in between, is fun and actually serves the overall story."

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is now available to watch on Netflix.

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2025-12-12T08:08:53Z