Knives Out sequel Wake Up Dead Man first reviews are in – and early Rotten Tomatoes score revealed
It looks like Benoit Blanc's latest case will be another hit!
Daniel Craig is set to return as Benoit Blanc in the latest Knives Out film Wake Up Dead Man later in 2025 – and it looks like writer/director Rian Johnson has another hit on his hands.
The third entry in the popular whodunnit series had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend and has so far been met with a very positive critical reception.
Indeed after 23 reviews, the film currently has an approval rating of 96 per cent on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with some critics even going so far as to say that it is the best of the movies so far.
Those reviews include a 5-star write-up from the BBC and a 4-star verdict from The Guardian, in addition to strong reviews from a range of big film publications including Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline, among others.
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Of course, it's very possible that Rotten Tomatoes score could change after more critics weigh in on the film, but as things stand this score continues the franchise's impressive record of surpassing the 90 per cent mark every time – with the original 2019 film sitting on 97 per cent and 2022 follow-up Glass Onion on 91 per cent.
Wake Up Dead Man once again sees a stellar ensemble cast joining Craig to play the latest batch of murder suspects, with the supporting cast this time consisting of Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church.
Not too much official information has been divulged about the precise mystery this time around, but the official synopsis teases that it will mark Blanc's "most dangerous case yet", while we also know from the various first-look images and teaser trailers that we can expect a gothic tone and a church setting.
The film is set for a limited theatrical release from 26th November before arriving on Netflix just a couple of weeks later on 12th December, but there is a chance for UK fans to watch it a little bit earlier – as it has been chosen as the Opening Night Gala for the 69th BFI London Film Festival.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is released in cinemas on 26th November and coming to Netflix on 12th November. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
