There’s a Reason That ‘Knives Out 3’ Title Might Sound Familiar

The Knives Out universe is growing. After the release of Glass Onion, we waited patiently for any kind of news on the third installment and now our prayers have been answered. We got our title for the third outing for Benoit Blanc, and I already have my theories.

Netflix released a teaser video to announce the new title—and the font has me thinking. Titled Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, I wonder if this is going to be a more nautical adventure. Is this Rian Johnson’s take on the Agatha Christie story Death on the Nile? What could this mean????

Look, I could wax poetic about every single detail of this image. But the reality is that it doesn’t give us that much to go on. All we know is what Johnson told Variety back in January 2023. “I’m starting to work on the third movie now,” Johnson said, “and that’s also what’s got me creatively jazzed: I don’t have to replicate the last movie at all. The goal is to strike out in a completely new direction tonally and thematically.”

Right now, we’re just excited to have news on the Knives Out front because it has been a minute since we’ve heard anything from Johnson and company. But with theories surrounding the title popping up, we are also wondering what cast of characters Johnson is going to bring in next. Outside of Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, the previous movies have both given us a new cast of suspects to meet and it is ALWAYS exciting seeing who will be included!

For now though, this title…

I knew it sounded familiar

This is now the second movie in the Knives Out franchise that uses a lesser-known song from a major band as its title. Glass Onion was named after the Beatles song, however, that song is not necessarily the most popular of the Fab Four’s tracks. Wake Up Dead Man is also the name of a U2 song, and it’s giving the same kind of vibe. From the album Pop, the song may play an important part in the Knives Out film but I think maybe it gives us a clue to the film’s setting.

We saw Benoit Blanc leave the United States in Glass Onion to solve a murder that had yet to be committed (while also solving a murder that the rest of the Disrupters knew something about). So it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that this film could take us to Ireland. What better way to honor the Irish than by using a U2 song as the title for your movie!

Maybe the crime will be a murder that happens because of an album that gets uploaded to everyone’s phones overnight without their consent.