Rian Johnson Confirms a Break From Knives Out After Wake Up Dead Man

The franchise began in 2019 and quickly became popular, adding to the already crowded world of murder mystery stories. The first film was released in theaters, the second premiered on Netflix, and the next one will have a small theatrical run before becoming available to stream.

As a big fan of the *Knives Out* films – seriously, the cast is incredible and everyone’s been loving them – I’ve been wondering what director Rian Johnson had up his sleeve next. I just learned at Contenders London that he’s putting *Knives Out* on hold for a bit to work on a completely new, original screenplay. It’s a little disappointing to wait for another mystery, but I’m excited to see what he comes up with next!

The filmmaker joined Josh O’Connor, star of *Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery*, and producer Ram Bergman on stage. He shared that he’s currently working on a new script, but it won’t be another *Knives Out* movie. He described it as a completely original project.

He added that making this film, *Wake Up Dead Man*, left him feeling surprisingly energized, but that it was probably a good thing to switch things up after working on three projects consecutively and spend some time around other people.

Johnson hasn’t shared what he’s working on next, or if it will be another project with Netflix. He previously made a deal with the streaming service for two Knives Out movies, and that deal will be completed when Wake Up Dead Man is released on Netflix.

The director described *Wake Up Dead Man* as being more like an Agatha Christie mystery than earlier films in the series. He explained that the movie follows a classic murder mystery format: introducing all the potential suspects and the main character (who isn’t the detective) before a murder takes place, and then bringing in the detective to solve it.

He explained that the story is primarily set in a historic stone church in a small town, something more common in the UK than in the US. He also mentioned that they really enjoyed collaborating with British film crews after working on location in London.

The Knives Out Franchise Still Has Hope

The director is currently working on a different project, but he hasn’t ruled out returning to the popular franchise. He mentioned at the BFI London Film Festival that he’d be very interested in directing future installments.

The filmmaker said they don’t feel exhausted by the work, actually feeling energized by it. As long as people enjoy watching, and they and Daniel continue to have fun creating new and challenging stories, they believe that excitement will come across to the audience. They’d happily continue making these films for as long as possible.

Daniel Craig seems eager to return for more movies, thankfully. While promoting the film’s debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, he hinted that he’d continue as long as Rian Johnson writes them. He praised Johnson as a fantastic writer, saying the quality of the script makes the acting process much easier.

Wake Up Dead Man debuts in theaters on Nov. 26 and will head to Netflix on Dec. 12.

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2025-10-11 15:36