A Grave Opens, A Mystery Begins
It starts with a pit. A coffin. A crowd of uneasy faces peering down. Netflix's first teaser trailer for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is as much a statement as it is a setup: Rian Johnson has cracked open a darker, moodier chamber of his whodunit series.
After dazzling TIFF audiences this past weekend with its world premiere on September 7, 2025, the film is already drawing raves—critics calling it Johnson's most gripping, most vicious yet. Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc, now weathered and more haunted, investigates an impossible murder inside a church. It's being described as “his most dangerous case yet.”
And yes—the imagery flirts with religious horror, cloaked in Gothic stone and sermonized shadows. A murder in God's house. No obvious suspect. Logic fails. Which is exactly where Blanc thrives.
The First Teaser Trailer
The teaser isn't long, but it's potent. We see a community fractured, priests with secrets, a coffin with too many eyes fixed upon it. Josh O'Connor and Josh Brolin appear in clerical black, Glenn Close sharp as a dagger, Mila Kunis caught between suspicion and terror. There's Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Thomas Haden Church—each a suspect, each hiding something unspeakable.
The mood? Less playful banter, more foreboding silence. Nathan Johnson's score hums like a funeral dirge, pulling us into a thriller that swaps sunlit yachts and glass palaces for weathered pews and tombstones.
Poster Analysis: Looking Up From the Grave
The official poster, unveiled alongside the teaser, might be Johnson's cleverest yet. Instead of the standard ensemble lineup, we're buried six feet under—literally. The camera angle places us in the coffin, looking up at a circle of mourners.
Benoit Blanc crouches at the center, trench coat folded, eyes skeptical. Around him: guilt, fear, judgment. The church spire rises behind them like a dagger piercing the clouds. It's not just a character sheet—it's a symbolic deathbed invitation. We, the audience, are the deceased. Or maybe the accused. Or both. Gorgeous. Grating. Gorgeous again.
Benoit Blanc's Third Case
Wake Up Dead Man is the continuation of Johnson's now-iconic franchise:
- Knives Out (2019) — the warm New England mystery with knives, patriarchy, and donut metaphors.
- Glass Onion (2022) — the sun-soaked Greek satire, equal parts comedy and class warfare.
- Now, Wake Up Dead Man (2025) — a Gothic church-set thriller where faith and death collide.
This time, Blanc teams with police chief Geraldine Scott to unravel a murder that “defies all logic.” Thematically, it's a step away from parody toward something thornier—faith, corruption, mortality.
Release Details
Johnson and longtime producer Ram Bergman bring the film to audiences with Netflix's backing. Release dates are locked:
- World Premiere: Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) — September 7, 2025
- US Theatrical Release: November 26, 2025 (select theaters, Thanksgiving week)
- Netflix Streaming Debut: December 12, 2025
This pattern mirrors Glass Onion's rollout but feels sharper, more eventized. Netflix seems determined to position Johnson's mysteries as cultural moments, not just algorithms in motion.
Why This One Feels Different
The Knives Out films have always danced between satire and sincerity. But this teaser carries a heavier soul. Death in a church isn't just a narrative gimmick—it's cultural dynamite. Priests as suspects. Faith fractured. The sacred desecrated.
I can already hear the debates: is Johnson flirting with horror? Or is this still just a whodunit, dressed in Gothic robes? Honestly—it doesn't matter. The vibe is unsettling, the performances already electric, and Craig feels more present than ever.
I walked out of TIFF struck by how Johnson balances genre pastiche with genuine unease. The comedy's still there, but stripped of comfort. This is a franchise growing teeth.
5 Things We Learned from the First Teaser Trailer
The church is a character. Its spires and shadows dominate the frame—this isn't just a backdrop, it's a battleground.
Blanc looks shaken. Gone is the bemused Southern charm; here he's grave, unsettled, maybe even out of his depth.
The ensemble is stacked. Glenn Close radiates menace, O'Connor and Brolin bring priestly weight, Kunis carries quiet tension.
The Gothic tone is deliberate. From coffin POV shots to stone arches, this feels closer to Hammer horror than Christie comfort.
The stakes are spiritual. A crime “that defies logic” suggests this isn't about money or inheritance—it's about faith, guilt, maybe even redemption.
Final Thoughts
Rian Johnson has done it again—reinvented the whodunit without discarding its bones. Wake Up Dead Man may be his boldest pivot yet: a funeral march instead of a waltz. And I'm here for it.
Watch the first teaser trailer. Stare into that coffin poster. Feel the unease. Then tell me—
Do you think Johnson's shift toward Gothic dread will elevate Wake Up Dead Man beyond its predecessors, or risk alienating fans of the franchise's lighter touch?
