Private eye Benoit Blanc is back and in upstate New York, investigating the murder of the less than honorable Msgr. Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). The prime suspect is Rev. Bud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor).

This isn’t as sharp as the first “Knives Out,” nor as personally revealing as the second, the 2022 “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.”  There are no puzzle boxes, priceless works of art nor a glimpse of Philip (Hugh Grant).

Noah Segan who appeared as Trooper Wagner in the first and slacker Derol in the second, appears as Nikolai. The voice of Joseph Gordon-Levitt is heard. This time, he’s a baseball announcer. In the first film, Gordon-Levitt was the voice of Detective Hardrock and in “Glass Onion,” he was the voice of clock, the Hourly Dong.

Jared Leto, whose likeness appeared on a bottle of kombucha in “Glass Onion,” doesn’t make an appearance in “Wake Up Dead Man,” but Jeremy Renner, whose likeness was on a hot sauce bottle, is not an actual person, Dr. Nat Sharp, the town doctor.

Where the first two films dealt with the rich–the first film was about family grasping for the inheritance of a famous writer and the second about a puzzle left by a tech billionaire (Ed Norton) hosting vacation murder mystery game on his private island, “Wake Up Dead Man” is about a troubled Catholic Church. The Reverend is sent, partially as punishment for his pugilistic ways, to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude.

Wicks is far from welcoming. He’s the grandson of the late Prentice Wicks (James Faulkner) and his mother, Grace (Annie Hamilton), remained at the church, lured by the promise of a great fortune. Upon her father’s death, she ransacked the place, destroying its crucifix. The current Monsignor Wicks refuses to replace it, but he’s also driving away most of the parishioners. Newcomers need not attend mass unless they wish to be humiliated.

While the reverent is the main suspect in the eyes of the local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis), we know he didn’t do it. The Wicks loyal few must be considered:

• the devout church lady who ably assists Wicks, Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close)
• the uptight attorney Vera Draven (Kerry Washington)
• the aspiring politician Cy Draven who is also Vera’s adoptive son (Daryl McCormack)
• the groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church)
• the best-selling author Lee Ross (Andrew Scott)
• the aforementioned doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner)
• the disabled concert cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny)
• and the bar owner Nikolai (Noah Segan).

Since you know that Segan will likely return in the next installment, you can rule him out. You’ll want Hawkeye/Clint Barton to join his fellow Marvel Avenger, Captain America in the form of Chris Evans, in the land of the guilty. Some people will be eliminated as suspects when they are eliminated.

There are clues along the way, but even Benoit Blanc will declare he can’t solve this mystery and that will live on forever in this world’s social media. That might be related to the road to Damascus, which is the dramatic conversion of Saul. I’m not Christian (and, neither is Benoit Blanc, or so he claims), so this isn’t something that I’ve studied. Remember, like with “Knives Out,” there’s a reason for the title.

“Wake Up Dead Man” is a fun sequel to “Glass Onion” and the “Knives Out” film series continues to bring quality acting and humor to the mystery film genre. “Wake Up Dead Man” has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 6 September 2025 and was released in theaters on 26 November 2025. Netflix will begin to stream on 12 December 2025.