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The 2025 BFI London Film Festival opened with flair, wit, and a touch of Southern charm as Daniel Craig and director Rian Johnson brought the world of Benoit Blanc back to the big screen with the rapturously received premiere of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
The highly anticipated third installment of the Knives Out series lit up the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday night, with Craig returning as the eccentric detective Benoit Blanc, and Johnson once again at the helm. The premiere was a dazzling affair attended by an all-star cast and some of London’s most recognizable creative figures, setting the perfect tone for the festival’s 69th edition.
Johnson, ever the showman, took to the stage to introduce his film, joined by key cast members including Craig, Daryl McCormack, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Cailee Spaeny, Kerry Washington, and Andrew Scott. Although Josh O’Connor and Glenn Close were not present, O’Connor later made a surprise appearance at the afterparty, mingling warmly with guests and fans alike.
During a lively onstage exchange with festival director Kristy Matheson, Craig was asked if he delves deeper into Benoit Blanc’s personality with each new installment. “First of all, I just want to say thank you for having us,” Craig began graciously, flashing his signature smile. Then, with perfect comedic timing, he added, “No is the answer,” earning laughter from the packed auditorium.
Brolin, who portrays the film’s menacing central villain — an evil priest named Monsignor Jefferson Wicks — offered his own insight into the project. “Rian is an amazing writer and an amazing director,” he said. “So when you get the call to play the worst person cinema has ever seen, you go, ‘That’s right!’”
The London audience, which notably included Greta Gerwig and Andrew Lloyd Webber, erupted with laughter and applause throughout the two-hour feature. The film follows Blanc’s latest case involving a power-hungry priest and his twisted congregation, set against the gothic grandeur of rural England. O’Connor’s character, a priest-in-training with a dark secret, adds further tension to the gripping mystery.
Wake Up Dead Man first debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, where it received widespread acclaim. Kerry Washington reflected on the ensemble’s chemistry: “You get called to be on a team of all-stars, and you just sit there and watch each other breathe life into these incredibly written characters. We were constantly in awe of each other — inspiring each other, goofing off, and trying to mess each other up. It was such a delight.”
Early reviews have hailed the film as one of Johnson’s sharpest and most entertaining works to date. Variety’s Owen Gleiberman praised it as “an enticingly clever and droll, nearly pitch-perfect piece of murder-mystery fun — a whodunit that lives up to the expectations set six years ago by Knives Out.”
With the same blend of humor, intrigue, and razor-sharp dialogue that defined its predecessors, Wake Up Dead Man cements Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig as a dynamic duo in modern mystery cinema.
The film opens In theaters on November 26, followed by its global streaming debut on Netflix on December 12.
