This bizarre fancast for the next ‘Knives Out’ movie is so wrong it’s right

After two all-time great murder mystery films, what could make the upcoming third Knives Out film the best in the series yet? The Muppets, of course.

The next Knives Out film’s title and approximate release date are finally here, and with them, fan-casting is already running rampant. Titled Wake Up Dead Man, the sequel to Knives Out and Glass Onion will again feature Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc, and will release on Netflix in 2025.

Director Rian Johnson revealed the title with a teaser trailer on X, in which Craig as Blanc called the movie his “most dangerous case yet.”

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As happened with the announcement of Glass Onion, the internet was quick to throw suggestions for the film’s ensemble cast into the ring. The usual suspects were all there (no pun intended), from Ayo Edebiri to Aubrey Plaza to Regina Hall — any and all of whom would absolutely kill it.

Aubrey plaza would be perfect for a knives out movie pic.twitter.com/Y1aa5LTCc6

— ES 🌙 (@dinmurdock) May 24, 2024

Regina Hall pic.twitter.com/Fpho7t5J7J

— I have so many questions? (@english_shamar) May 24, 2024

But one actor (or rather, group of actors) kept popping up: the Muppets. They seem like a perfect fit for the franchise: the grand tradition of Muppets media is to have one human actor among the puppets — in this case, Craig, solving a mystery. Meanwhile, the likes of Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie Bear would make perfect suspects, stirring up chaos and dramatically dying throughout the film.

The official X account for the Knives Out franchise even acknowledged the demand for the Muppets, writing, “Who leaked this,” under one post calling for their inclusion.

who leaked this

— Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (@KnivesOut) May 24, 2024

But Johnson himself may not be on board for a Muppets murder mystery. Back in 2022 around the release of Glass Onion, he told Netflix’s Tudum that after giving it due consideration, he doesn’t think the Muppets and Benoit Blanc can ever mix.

“It’s a joke that I thought was pretty brilliant, and I ended up really giving [it] some serious thought,” Johnson said. “As much as I take the murder mystery genre seriously, I take the genre of a Muppet movie seriously.” 

“I think those two things have very different rules,” he continued. “You can either have a Benoit Blanc mystery that has Muppets in it, but they’ll feel out of place. Or you can have a Muppet movie that Benoit Blanc is in, but it’ll feel like a Muppet movie.” 

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“I wouldn’t want to compromise either of them,” Johnson concluded. “And I feel like in order to make it well and make it work, you’d have to make a choice and compromise one or the other. If I ever make a Muppet movie, I just want to make a great Muppet movie.”

Rest assured, though, Johnson has big plans for Wake Up Dead Man — even if the Muppets won’t be involved. Just before posting the teaser, Johnson shared a hint about the new movie.

“I love everything about whodunnits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is. There’s a whole tonal spectrum from Carr to Christie, and getting to explore that range is one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies,” Johnson wrote. “We’re about to go into production on the 3rd one, and I’m very, very excited to share the title, which gives a little hint of where it’s going.”

We’re about to go into production on the 3rd one, and I’m very, very excited to share the title, which gives a little hint of where it’s going.

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) May 24, 2024

Who will actually make the cut for the film’s sure to be iconic cast, and has Johnson changed his mind on the Muppets? We’ll find out by 2025 when Wake Up Dead Man makes it to our screens.

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