Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the third installment in Rian Johnson’s acclaimed whodunit franchise, has premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival to a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on initial critic reviews, marking its highest debut within the series.
The film, which stars Daniel Craig reprising his role as detective Benoit Blanc, features a new ensemble cast including Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Josh O’Connor, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church, and Glenn Close. Set against a sombre religious community backdrop, the mystery has been lauded as the most intricate and layered of the franchise, exploring themes of faith and logic alongside clever plot mechanics.
With early reviews from around 10 to 11 critics arriving post-TIFF premiere, the movie earned consistently positive feedback, ranging from near-perfect to solid scores such as 3.5 out of 4 and 6 out of 10, yet unanimously praising the complexity of its storytelling. An insider notes that Daniel Craig’s performance continues to evolve, deepening the character of Blanc while maintaining his signature blend of charisma, wit, and brilliance. The balance between gothic existential tones and classic mystery elements has been highlighted as a key strength.
Scheduled for theatrical release on November 26, followed by a Netflix debut on December 12, Wake Up Dead Man positions itself as a darker, twistier, and more emotionally resonant chapter in the Knives Out saga. This elevates it beyond its predecessors, whose Rotten Tomatoes scores included a 97% rating for the 2019 original and a 91% Certified Fresh score for the 2022 sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
The exceptional critical reception at this stage, while likely to fluctuate as more reviews are added, currently establishes Wake Up Dead Man as the franchise’s new benchmark for critical acclaim, underscoring Rian Johnson’s continuing mastery of the murder mystery genre and Daniel Craig’s enduring portrayal of Benoit Blanc.