Fans have been eagerly waiting for news on Knives Out 3 since the release of the second film in the franchise, Glass Onion. Well, the powers that be have been good to us as of late, as various updates have been dropping. More specifically, it’s now known that the threequel is officially titled Wake Up Dead Man. Casting reports have also been pouring in, with Jeremy Renner and Kerry Washington among those who’ve been tapped for roles. Now, it’s been revealed that another Marvel alum is joining Renner in the film, and I hope they have the same kind of hero/villain dynamic in this production.
Writer/director Rian Johnson really knows how to put together an ensemble and, thus far, he really seems to be outdoing himself for the latest chapter centered around Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc. Well, Johnson just tapped another major actor in the form of Oscar nominee Josh Brolin, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Unsurprisingly, details on Brolin’s role have yet to be revealed as is also the case with the overall plot. Still, this is an exciting bit of news and a sweet pick-up for Johnson and co.
Josh Brolin has played a variety of roles throughout his illustrious career, most recently reprising his role as Gurney Halleck in Dune: Part Two and returning as Royal Abbott on Outer Range Season 2. Of course, plenty of people probably know him best for his role as the Mad Titan Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As part of that massive franchise, he was a co-star of Jeremy Renner, who notably played Clint Barton/Hawkeye. So the two played characters on opposing sides of a conflict, and it’d be great to see them be in similar spaces in their latest film.
The idea of one playing a nice guy and the other playing an antagonist is quite delicious, regardless of whoever would fit into the respective roles. What might be particularly fun, though, would be to see the Thanos actor play someone a bit more noble and his former co-star portray an antagonist. Either way, I’m really hoping that these two have plenty of screen and that Rian Johnson uses them to the best of their abilities.
Glass Onion: 9 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Netflix's Knives Out Sequel
My hope in that regard also extends to the rest of the film’s star-studded cast. The first two actors to be officially linked to the film were Cailee Spaeny, of Civil War and Priscilla fame, and Josh O’Conner, who’s just coming off the success of Challengers. Joining the young talent are seasoned pros Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Mila Kunis and Glenn Close had also been cast. Also tapped for a role is Daryl McCormack of Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and the upcoming Twisters.
Jeremy Renner’s casting is particularly interesting, given the fact that a joke was made about the actor himself in Glass Onion. With that, a number of fans argued that Renner could only play himself in this next film. Upon seeing those comments though, the actor dropped an A+ response. In general, since it was confirmed in January that the movie would film this year, fans began dreaming up casts. That’s only increased since the title was revealed, and they became so prevalent that the official social media account for the film called out viewers for their “unhinged casting” ideas, which were also brilliant in some respects.
I’m incredibly excited to see how this talented ensemble comes together in this latest mystery from the mind of Rian Johnson. What I’ll be wishing for from this point on as well is that Jeremy Renner and Josh Brolin’s two characters come to blows at some point during the likely humorous and twist-filled proceedings.
Wake Up Dead Mean: A Knives Out Mystery is set to be released sometime in 2025. While you wait for it to arrive, check out Glass Onion using a Netflix subscription, and read up on upcoming releases on the 2024 movie schedule.
