Netflix has unveiled the trailer for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, and it looks like Rian Johnson is pushing the franchise into thrillingly darker territory. Daniel Craig reprises his role as Benoit Blanc, who now faces what he calls “a classic, impossible crime.”

The setup: a priest, played by Josh Brolin, delivers a sermon before stepping into a sealed concrete box—and moments later, he’s found dead. No suspects. No clear motive. Just a puzzle that seems to defy reason. It’s the kind of gothic whodunit that feels tailor-made for Blanc’s razor-sharp deduction skills.

The cast is stacked with talent: Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church. From the trailer alone, O’Connor is already emerging as a potential standout, though every character looks drenched in suspicion—exactly what fans want in a classic mystery.

Johnson himself has called this third entry his “darkest” Knives Out film yet. Gone is the sunlit satire of Glass Onion; in its place, a wintry, gothic aesthetic that sets the stage for a chilling, cerebral puzzle. Early buzz from Toronto Film Festival screenings suggests it may even surpass its predecessors, thanks to razor-sharp writing, atmospheric direction, and a refreshing return to old-school mystery roots.

Verdict: With Craig’s charismatic detective back, a loaded ensemble, and an impossible crime at its center, Wake Up Dead Man looks poised to be the franchise’s most gripping chapter yet.