Interview: Rian Johnson Returns to Chat About Making the Difficult Process of Crafting ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ Appear So Easy

Rian Johnson sure makes a Knives Out film look easy. Now, whether it’s the initial Knives Out or either of the sequels, it’s obviously not the case. However, the way he crafts them makes it appear like they’re no trouble at all, which speaks to his skills in crafting the murder mysteries. Particularly with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, he’s able to tinker with the formula to give us something completely new, while making the movie very much to a fan’s liking. Johnson I previously spoke to him here about Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Today, he’s back to discuss his latest flick in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

In my review out of TIFF here, I said the following about Johnson’s latest whodunit:

Filmmaker Rian Johnson trusts the strength of his franchise to play around with format and theme. The gothic elements on display, as well as the religious aspect, may initially seem like a left turn, but it all ends up fitting like a glove. He knows the must haves for a Knives Out flick and absolutely delivers. A few big sequences here at TIFF received ovations once completed. You just can feel that you’re in the hands of a master storyteller, so you’ll follow him anywhere. Johnson knows that and 100% makes the most of it.

Below, you can hear my latest conversation with Johnson. Given twenty minutes to talk, we were able to go off on some tangents (everyone should see Deathtrap), as well as how he crafts/thinks about the Knives Out franchise. Johnson is a fun, thoughtful, and witty guy, as you can see from his films, so the chat follows that same style. I’ve been on record saying that Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is the best in the trilogy and arguably Johnson’s best movie to date, so diving into it was an absolute pleasure. Hopefully some of you were able to see it during its limited theatrical run, since it works best with a big audience. Still, quality cinema is quality cinema. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is currently streaming on Netflix as of today, so however you see it, make sure you see the flick, as it’s massively entertaining.

Here now is my interview with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery filmmaker Rian Johnson. Enjoy:

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is now streaming on Netflix!