‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Trailer: Josh O’Connor Enters the Benoit Blanc Cinematic Universe as a Blood-Soaked Suspect in Rian Johnson’s New Mystery

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Nov 19

Written By Jonathan P. Moustakas

(L-R) Mila Kunis, Daniel Craig and Josh O’Connor in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. **Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2025**

Josh O’Connor and Daniel Craig spark electricity in Rian Johnson’s sharpest, strangest Benoit Blanc mystery to date.

Rian Johnson is back in the game. Netflix dropped a new trailer for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, giving fans a deeper look at Daniel Craig’s return as Benoit Blanc — and introducing Josh O’Connor as the franchise’s most tortured, wide-eyed suspect yet.

O’Connor plays Father Jud Duplenticy, a boxer-turned-priest stationed in a remote parish where the death of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) turns the sleepy town into a pressure cooker of secrets. The trailer wastes no time showing the priest with literal blood on his hands, prompting Mila Kunis’ small-town police chief to say what everyone else is thinking: he had motive, opportunity, and he was the last person onstage with the victim.

Of course, nothing is ever that simple in a Benoit Blanc case. The new footage leans heavily into the unlikely duo dynamic between Craig and O’Connor, who bounce off each other with playful, almost brotherly energy — a tone confirmed by THR critic David Rooney, who raved about their chemistry after early screenings.

Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Kerry Washington, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church round out the killer ensemble, all introduced in deliciously tense snapshots. It’s classic Johnson — a murder mystery that feels elevated, stylish, deeply character-driven, and just odd enough to keep everyone guessing.

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The film, written and directed by Johnson, marks his third Knives Out entry following Netflix’s massive $469 million acquisition of the franchise in 2021. With two Oscar nominations already under his belt for previous installments, Johnson is once again aiming squarely at the awards season calendar.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery hits theaters Nov. 26 before streaming on Netflix Dec. 12.