Daniel Craig in Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery
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Brandon Zachary
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Brandon Zachary is a Lead Writer for Screen Rant's New Movie Team. He also writes or has written for Comicbook.com, CBR, That Hashtag Show, Just Watch, and TVBrittanyF. Brandon is an Emerging Screenwriters Semi-Finalist, co-writer of a Screencraft Quarter-Finalist, a seasoned on-screen interviewer, and a MASSIVE nerd. You can reach him at [email protected]
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The following contains spoilers for Knives Out: Wake Up Dead ManWake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery has several layers of intrigue hidden throughout the movie, using its twisty nature as a mystery to ruminate on questions about faith and empathy. The third film from Rian Johnson, focusing on the detective Benoit Blanc, Wake Up Dead Man moves the action to a sleepy and deeply religious town.
While the film is best seen blind so that every twist can unravel naturally, Wake Up Dead Man's story is thematically connected to the movie's overall plot. It's also arguably the best Knives Out movie, and is asking for a breakdown of the themes. Here's what happens in Wake Up Dead Man and what it all means.
The Central Mystery In Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Explained
Wake Up Dead Man is the most thought-provoking Knives Out film yet, with a mystery that unravels in layers over the course of the film. The central question in Wake Up Dead Man is the murder of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks. Initially, the mystery presents itself as an act of revenge by someone in Wicks' congregation, albeit under impossible circumstances.
Jud Duplenticy is the most obvious suspect, due to his conflicts with Wicks and his frustrations over the righteous fury that Wicks brings to his sermons. When the rest of the congregation confronted Wicks over his identity as the secret father of Cy Draven, Wicks threatened to expose all of their own secrets, giving them all motivation.
The audience is led to believe for a time that Wicks has somehow miraculously returned to life, only to be found dead in the basement of Nat Sharp alongside the acid-melted corpse of Sharp. However, the truth is far more complex than it appears. Wicks' death was arranged by Sharp, the parishioner Martha Delacroix, and her romantic partner Samson.
After being compelled to reveal her secret about Wilcox's grandfather and his invaluable diamond, Martha was shocked to discover that Wilcox intended to break into his father's tomb to take it. Horrified that the diamond had "corrupted" another soul, Martha recruited Nicks and Samson to kill Wicks to keep the diamond safe.
Martha had been tasked years prior by Wicks' grandfather to prevent the diamond from falling into the hands of people who'd want to use it for selfish reasons. This was why Martha became so committed to the church; her faith in the priest and his perspective on the world carried into several decades of loyal service — and eventually murder.
Rather than allow the diamond to be out in the world again, Martha would rather kill Wicks. She even reasons that by faking it as a miraculous resurrection, she could honor his preaching by generating religious fervor in his name, all claiming the diamond and keeping her promise to keep it hidden.
Wake Up Dead Man Kills More Characters Than Any Other Knives Out Film
Kerry Washington and Glenn Close in Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery
Wake Up Dead Man has four notable deaths in the present day, while the demises of Wicks' grandfather and mother play important parts in the overall narrative. Wicks is eventually revealed to have been killed directly by Nicks, who seemingly joined the conspiracy to prevent Wicks from ruining his medical practice by revealing his alcoholism.
Martha sewed a decoy knife into Wicks' robes and then drugged the flask he kept hidden. After he collapsed, Nicks checked on Wicks — giving him just enough time alone to pull out the fake knife and fatally stab Wicks with the real one. At Wicks' funeral, Nicks made off with the body while Samson took his place in the coffin.
When the time came for Wicks to "revive," it was Samson who came out of the tomb, disguised as Wicks. The idea was that Wicks' resurrection would justify his vicious sermons, while destroying the tomb and allowing Martha to recover the diamond and hide it. However, Nicks decided to take the diamond for himself and killed Samson.
After seeing Samson's body, a grief-stricken Martha confronted Nicks, poisoning him with the medical overdose that he intended to use on her. Afterwards, racked with guilt, Martha returned to the church for one last sermon. Having taken a lethal dose of the same medicine, Martha survives long enough to confess her crimes and get last rites from Jud.
While each Knives Out film has had at least one casualty, Wake Up Dead Man is a far more deadly. Even beyond the demises of Wicks, Nicks, Samson, and Martha, there's also the deaths of Wicks' grandfather and his daughter in the film's backstory, as well as the revelation that Jud had previously killed a man.
Death is a key element of Wake Up Dead Man, with a mixture of premeditated murder, impulsive killing, and acts of suicide occurring throughout the film. However, almost all of them are treated as tragedies. Even Nicks' demise, which would have been a triumphant moment in another film, leaves Martha heartbroken and hollow.
How Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Teases Benoit Blanc's Backstory
Daniel Craig looking curious in a church in Knives Out Wake Up Dead Man
One of the more intriguing elements of Wake Up Dead Man is how it teases the backstory of Benoit Blanc. While discussing his own history with religion, Blanc confirms that he is an atheist. This speaks to his focus on logic and reason over belief. However, the scene also hints that Blanc has a more personal reason for disliking religion.
Blanc quietly reveals to Jud that his mother was a religious woman, and that he used to go to church with her as a child. However, they apparently had a falling out at some point, with Blanc decrying her as a cruel woman before quickly changing the subject. This offers a unique new perspective on Daniel Craig's detective.
It seems that Blanc was driven to uncover the truth in all things, partly in response to his upbringing in a house of faith. While Blanc retains an appreciation for what good men of the cloth like Jud can do for people, he has no illusions about how the church can be abused for wealth, power, and influence.
While the film doesn't overtly say it, there's also a potential implication that Benoit Blanc's dislike for religion stems from his mother's strict beliefs. Glass Onion quietly revealed that Blanc is romantically involved with a man. If Blanc's mother was a very devout and religiously minded woman, she may have been angered by Blanc's sexuality, creating a rift between them.
The True Meaning Behind "The Scarlet Woman"
One of the underlying themes of Wake Up Dead Man stems from the "Scarlet Woman," aka Grace Wicks. The mother of Wicks, she is portrayed in stories from Martha and sermons by Wicks as a heartless woman who only wanted the wealth of her father. She severely damaged the church after her father's death, before dying herself.
Once the diamond is revealed, it turns out Grace tore up the church in search of the wealth. Each of these scenes depicts her as a cruel woman, but Jud, Vera, and Blanc are revealed to sympathize with her. Trapped by a family that didn't accept her, Grace is demonized after her death by the son who condemns her.
Even Martha is forced to reckon with how her hatred for Grace has been misplaced. As she lies dying and prays for forgiveness, Jud tells her that she also needs to let go of her hatred for Grace. Only then does Martha feel genuine peace in her final moments. This speaks to one of the film's most important themes.
Grace was seen as nothing but a symbol of the world's flaws by Wicks, who continued to use her example as a cudgel against others. However, Jud argues that the purpose of faith is to forgive and be forgiven. By empathizing with Grace, Jud proves his humanity and gives Martha a final peace.
How Wake Up Dead Man's Ending Could Impact Future Knives Out Films
One of the biggest appeals of the Knives Out films is their stand-alone nature. The movies are self-contained mysteries, with Benoit Blanc being the only consistent character across films. While his legacy is well-known across the world, each mystery is its own story. However, that might change after the third film.
During the climax of the film, Benoit Blanc begins to expose the truth but then openly says he cannot solve the case. Cy and Lee quickly take this, presenting it to the press as proof of divine miracles over the greatest detective in the world. However, Blanc had solved the case but wanted Martha to die with dignity.
This is why he didn't expose her, allowing her to quietly confess to Jud and Geraldine instead of becoming a spectacle. The ending reveals that there are still Wicks believers who cite Blanc's admission as fact, even though the crime was publicly revealed after Matha's passing. This could complicate future mysteries surrounding Blanc and give people reason to doubt him.
The True Meaning Of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Daniel Craig in bright light as Benoit Blanc in Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery
At the core of Wake Up Dead Man is a story about faith and redemption. For many, faith is either a weapon or a shield. People like Wicks use it to badger people and break them down. Martha uses it to justify her singular worldview. Cy and Lee try to profit from it, and Simone seeks healing through it.
Blanc and Vera have harsh views on the church, with the latter feeling trapped within it (explaining her deep sympathies for Grace). Even Nicks only seems to be going out of habit by this point, as he embraces Wicks' furious sermons while dealing with his growing rage over his wife leaving him.
The only two characters with sincere faith are Jud and Samson. This is why Jud unwittingly complicates the case by hiding the flask that poisoned Wicks. Unaware of the drugs in the flask, he feared the reaction Samson, a recovering alcoholic with deep faith in Wicks, would have if he discovered it.
Samson is one of the few genuine innocent people in the film, and even his willingness to help dispose of Wicks is based on his unyielding love for Martha. This makes his sudden and unplanned death at the hands of Nicks all the more harrowing and heartbreaking, setting off the final act of the film.
Jud's faith, however, reflects the best of what the church can be. While others use it to lord superiority over others or seek to enrich themselves by embracing it, Jud simply believes in the power of faith. He didn't seek absolution for his violent past out of regret, but because he genuinely believes Jesus loves him and forgives him.
This is why Jud fought with Wicks so much when they met, his own empathy-centric beliefs bristling naturally against the harsher views of Wicks. This is why Jud keeps trying to turn himself in for crimes he didn't commit, fearful of causing more pain. It's why, after everything, he still gives Martha her last rites.
It connects the film thematically with the first Knives Out, where the scheme to frame Marta is thrown off by empathy for Fran and her unwillingness to leave her to die, even if it costs everything. There's a humanity to Jud's worldview that spreads to others, a belief that is eventually shared by others in the film's final moments.
While Blanc doesn't believe in the divine, he does believe in humanity. His willingness to fight for Jud (as well as the other people who recruit him) speaks to the same empathy that drives Jud. It gives Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery a strong emotional and moral core that helps make it such a thematically rich movie.
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Like Follow Followed Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery PG-13 Comedy Drama Mystery
6/10
Release Date
November 26, 2025
Runtime
140 minutes
Director
Rian Johnson
Writers
Rian Johnson
Cast
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Daniel Craig
Benoit Blanc
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Josh O'Connor
Rev. Jud Duplenticy
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