Netflix has released a new trailer for Wake Up Dead Man, the latest chapter in Rian Johnson‘s mystery series starring Benoit Blanc, the world’s greatest detective of ambiguous Southern origin. Have a look:
As evidenced by the trailer, the story concerns an “impossible” locked mystery of seemingly supernatural origin, evoking the great works of John Dickson Carr, Seishi Yokomizo, and Hanna-Barbera. This is exciting in itself, as the subgenre has long been considered radioactive in Hollywood for being difficult to extremely difficult to craft, necessitating long, dialogue-heavy scenes of the cast coming at the problem from all angles, and for just being just a bit too Scooby-Doo. However, Wake Up Dead Man does what Scooby-Doo would find taboo by adding a dead priest to the mix and, by proxy, narrative gravitas.
Naturally, Catholic horror has been on the up and up since the release of The Exorcist in 1973—just two months after Dick Van Dyke guest-starred on the series finale of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, incidentally. Writer-director Johnson has officially cracked the code on raising a $210 million budget to hire an ensemble cast of A-list actors to play in what’s basically a cattier version of Goober and the Ghost Chasers by way of The Rosary Murders. Hallelujah.
And what a cast we have! In addition to Daniel Craig returning for his third outing as Benoit Blanc, we have Josh O’Connor as a young priest, Reverend Jud Duplenticy; Glenn Close as devoted churchgoer Martha Delacroix; Josh Brolin as the fiery Monsignor Jefferson Wicks; Mila Kunis as police chief Geraldine Scott; Jeremy Renner as town doctor Nat Sharp; Kerry Washington as uptight attorney Vera Draven; Andrew Scott as famous author Lee Ross; Cailee Spaeny as former concert cellist Simone Vivane; Daryl McCormack as aspiring politician Cy Draven; and Thomas Haden Church as a groundskeeper named Samson Holt.
Who do you think will be the killer? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments. Wake Up Dead Man hits theaters November 26 for a short run before arriving on Netflix December 12.
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