“I have some basic, elemental, conceptual ideas,” the filmmaker says while discussing “Wake Up Dead Man.”

Knives Out 4? Director Rian Johnson shares update on his next Benoit Blanc mystery

"I have some basic, elemental, conceptual ideas," the filmmaker says while discussing "Wake Up Dead Man."

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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December 14, 2025 1:00 p.m. ET

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Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc in 'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery'. Credit:

John Wilson/Netflix

- Rian Johnson says he has "basic, elemental, conceptual ideas" for *Knives Out 4*.

- The filmmaker will make at least one original movie before returning to the Benoit Blanc franchise.

- Johnson wants to ensure that every *Knives Out* mystery is "reacting to the present moment" as a "vibe check of the United States."

Have we seen the last of Benoit Blanc?

Rian Johnson doesn't think so. The writer-director, who introduced Daniel Craig's alliterative gentleman detective to the world in 2019's *Knives Out*, says that he's already begun thinking about preliminary concepts for the next installment in his hit murder mystery movie series.

"I have some basic, elemental, conceptual ideas," the filmmaker tells ** while discussing his latest Blanc mystery, *Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery*. "Like, 'Okay, it'd be interesting if it were this kind of thing' kernels."

Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig in London on Oct. 8, 2025.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

However, after helming three *Knives Out* movies in a row, Johnson will make at least one original movie before returning to the franchise — and he won't think about the fourth installment much further until he's committed to making it his next project.

"I don't have actual concrete ideas," he clarifies. "I don't have a theme yet, I don't have a location. It's really pretty vague, and I feel like it's good to kinda keep it vague until I'm ready to actually sit down and write it."

The *Looper *filmmaker says timeliness is of the essence in the *Knives Out* series, which means he'll need to adjust to a new chapter of American life before diving back into the world of Benoit Blanc.

Daniel Craig in 'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery'.

Courtesy of Netflix

"Part of making these movies, for me, is reacting to the present moment, not necessarily with current events or politics or culture specifically, but in terms of what we're all feeling in the world at that moment," Johnson says. "The vibe check of the United States and the moment that we're in."

He continues, "I like that these movies are not timeless, per se, and that they all have one foot in something that is common to all of us in our present moment. So, yeah, I don't know. I have a vague notion, but trying to keep it vague until it's time to actually do it."

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*Wake Up Dead Man* stars Craig, Josh O'Connor, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Daryl McCormack, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, and Thomas Hayden Church. The film is now playing in select theaters and streaming on Netflix.

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