“Can I get an ‘Amen?’” Rian Johnson bellowed while welcoming a packed house to the world premiere of his third “Knives Out” installment, “Wake Up Dead Man,” on Saturday night at the Toronto Film Festival.
The crowd generously complied, but their early shouts of “amen” paled in comparison to the laughs and cheers that echoed through the theater for much of the gothic thriller’s two-hour runtime. Indeed, the new “Knives Out” movie — which focuses on a murder in a small-town Catholic church — nearly brought the house down.
Daryl McCormack, Daniel Craig, Josh Brolin, Rian Johnson and Glenn Close attend the premiere of “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” during the Toronto Film Festival.
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Kerry Washington takes a selfie with fans during Netflix’s “Wake Up Dead Man” world premiere.
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Josh O’Connor attends Netflix’s “Wake Up Dead Man” world premiere.
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Then, as the credits rolled, TIFF moviegoers welcomed the all-star cast — Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Daryl McCormack and Cailee Spaeny — to the stage with a roar of applause for the Q&A.
What many in the audience didn’t know was that the troupe of A-listers was also seeing the movie for the first time. And they were delighted by the enthusiastic reception, each one gushing about the camaraderie on set and Johnson’s sure-handed guidance.
“You get called to be on a team of like all-stars, and you just sit there and watch each other breathe life into these incredibly written characters,” Washington said. “We were constantly in awe of each other, and inspiring each other, and goofing off, and trying to mess each other up. And it just was such a delight. “It’s so fun watching with you all because it feels like you all had maybe a tiny bit as much fun watching it as we did making it.”
Close also reflected on the “intricacy” of the central murder mystery — the details of which Johnson urged audiences not to spoil — saying, “I read the script at least four times before I could start to understand the intricacy of the story. So I hope that you’ll see it at least three more times.”
Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, Glenn Close and Cailee Spaeny attend Netflix’s “Wake Up Dead Man” world premiere.
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Andrew Scott waves to fans at Netflix’s “Wake Up Dead Man” world premiere.
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Jeremy Renner smiles for photographers on the red carpet at Netflix’s “Wake Up Dead Man” world premiere.
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The cast and crew of “Wake Up Dead Man” — Kerry Washington, Ram Bergman, Mila Kunis, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Daniel Craig, Josh Brolin, Rian Johnson, Josh O’Connor and Jeremy Renner — attend the film’s world premiere.
Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Netflix
All three “Knives Out” movies have launched at TIFF, Johnson noted when he and the “Wake Up Dead Man” cast visited the Variety Studio before the screening.
“To be doing this third one, to be here with these people, with this cast, I mean, it’s the best. I can’t wait to show the movie,” Johnson said, eagerly anticipating the Saturday night showing.
In the latest installment, Craig returns as detective Benoit Blanc, taking on his most dangerous case yet. He reflected on wrapping up the mystery movie trilogy — at least for now.
“Like most things in this business, it’s a constant surprise,” Craig said, remembering when Johnson’s first script came his way. “We made it with no ambition whatsoever. Just let’s do the best movie we can. And it became something, and then here we are.”
But Craig didn’t definitively retire the character. “These movies have to work at a very, very high level, otherwise there’s no point in doing them,” he said. “So as long as they’re doing that, we’ll keep doing them.”
Translation: The case may not be closed for Benoit Blanc.
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