“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received just as strong reviews as the first two entries in the franchise, “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion,” with praise directed at Rian Johnson’s direction, writing, and the performances of the cast. Johnson, along with members of the cast and crew, were all kind enough to spend some time speaking with Next Best Picture over the past few weeks, and you can watch or listen to those conversations below. First, we have my interview with Rian Johnson and Josh O’Connor, followed by Dan Bayer’s interview with Johnson and Benoit Blanc himself, Daniel Craig. Then we have Cody Dericks’s interview with Academy Award-nominee and on-screen legend Glenn Close, followed by my chat with Mila Kunis and Cailee Spaeny, then Brendan Hodges’s discussion with cinematographer Steve Yedlin, and finally my interview with composer Nathan Johnson. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Netflix, and is up for your consideration for this year’s Academy Awards in all eligible categories. Thank you, and enjoy!
Thank you so much for listening. The Next Best Picture Podcast is proud to be a part of the Evergreen Podcasts Network. You can subscribe to us anywhere you listen to podcasts or listen in the embedded player below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here. And if you’re feeling generous, you enjoy what you hear, and you want to hear more, please help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month, and you’ll receive some exclusive podcast content from us.
You can follow Matt, Dan, Cody & Brendan and hear more of their thoughts on the Oscars and Film on X @NextBestPicture, @dancindanonfilm, @codymonster91 & @metaplexmovies

