Josh O’Connor and Cailee Spaeny Join ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’

Josh O’Connor and Cailee Spaeny

Kristy Sparow/Getty Images; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Josh O’Connor and Cailee Spaeny are joining Daniel Craig in the upcoming Knives Out 3 sequel, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Last week, writer and director Rian Johnson confirmed on X, formerly Twitter, that Craig would be reprising his role as Benoit Blanc in the next ensemble murder mystery film. In a 45-second video teaser video, he also revealed the sequel’s title as Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

“The next Benoit Blanc mystery, the follow-up to Knives Out and Glass Onion, is called Wake Up Dead Man,” the filmmaker wrote in the post’s caption on Friday.

Netflix also confirmed Craig’s return and the sequel title on its Tudum site following Johnson’s post.

“That’s right, Daniel Craig is back as the suave Southern investigator in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, a new installment of the whodunnit franchise written and directed by Rian Johnson. Blanc will be unraveling a brand-new murder mystery in an as-yet-undisclosed setting, surrounded by a new colorful cast of suspects,” the streaming giant wrote.

The director also noted on social media that production on the sequel is set to begin soon.

“I love everything about whodunnits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is,” Johnson said on X prior to releasing the film’s title. “There’s a whole tonal spectrum from Carr to Christie, and getting to explore that range is one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies.”

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is set to debut on Netflix next year.

O’Connor is coming off of a breakout role in the tennis drama Challengers, while Spaeny recently starred in A24’s Civil War and leads Alien: Romulus, due out Aug. 16. O’Connor is repped by CAA, Independent Talent Group and Johnson Shapiro. Spaeny is repped by WME, Sugar 23 and Hansen Jacobson.

What’s On Netflix was the first to report the news.

—Borys Kit contributed to this report.