Knives Out 3 Director Sets Sights On A Legendary A-Lister For The Next Mystery
Rian Johnson is targeting another Oscar-winning icon for Knives Out 3, amping up a revolving-door whodunit where only Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc is a constant and regulars Noah Segan and Joseph Gordon-Levitt keep popping up.
Rian Johnson has his next dream get for the Knives Out sandbox, and yeah, it makes perfect sense: Meryl Streep. The writer-director behind all three mysteries is already publicly manifesting it.
The wish: Meryl Streep
At a special screening of the latest Benoit Blanc outing, 'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,' Johnson told Variety he wants Streep in the mix. He was pretty blunt about it and also charmingly honest about the fact that he does not actually know her.
'I feel like Meryl Streep would kill it. She was born to be in one of these movies; she’s hilarious... I don’t know her at all.'
Kerry Washington volunteers as matchmaker
Kerry Washington, who plays Vera Draven in 'Wake Up Dead Man,' has worked with Streep before in the 2020 musical comedy 'The Prom.' Asked about Johnson’s dream casting, Washington said she would nudge Streep toward it, noting that cast members rave about how fun these shoots are and she would absolutely encourage her to jump in.
The rotating-cast tradition (and the recurring ringers)
One of the series’ signature moves is the revolving door ensemble. Daniel Craig is the only constant as Detective Benoit Blanc. Two Easter-egg MVPs, Noah Segan and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, have popped up in every film so far — including Knives Out 3 — but as different characters each time. Everyone else is a fresh batch of high-profile troublemakers every movie.
Where the series is right now
- Knives Out (2019): Chris Evans as Ransom Drysdale, Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera, Jamie Lee Curtis as Linda Drysdale, Toni Collette as Joni Thrombey.
- Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022): Edward Norton as Miles Bron, Kate Hudson as Birdie Jay, Dave Bautista as Duke Cody, and more.
- Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025): Josh O'Connor as Rev. Jud Duplenticy, Glenn Close as Martha Delacroix, Josh Brolin as Msgr. Jefferson Wicks, and Kerry Washington as Vera Draven. It is in select theaters now and premieres on Netflix on December 12, 2025.
Bottom line: if Johnson gets his wish and Streep shows up to trade barbs with Benoit Blanc, that is exactly the kind of casting chaos these movies live for.