Rian Johnson Couldn't Resist a Star Wars Jab in Wake Up Dead Man
Sharpen your alibis: Knives Out 3 just dropped on Netflix, delivering fresh suspects, razor-edged twists, and your next weekend obsession.
Now that Rian Johnson has dropped his third Benoit Blanc mystery on Netflix, he finally popped the hood on the Star Wars gag everyone clocked. Yes, he put it there on purpose. No, he does not regret it.
About that Star Wars line
In 'Wake Up Dead Man', suspect Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack) talks about teaming up with his dad to build a big, muscle-bound business empire. In the middle of that, he compares himself to the Star Wars Rebellion — straight-faced, heroic self-image and all. Father Jud (Josh O'Connor) reacts like someone just called the Death Star a nonprofit. The joke is the point: it needles people who imagine themselves as scrappy rebels while their worldview (and bank account) is a lot closer to the Empire.
'I couldn't resist... The ultimate joke of that moment, that everyone thinks they are the Rebels, I think is very apropos today.'
That was Johnson to Polygon, and the gag tracks with the series’ whole vibe. These movies poke at modern life, politics, and the way we brand ourselves — but Johnson says he tries not to hammer it to death. His read: set the stories in the now, let the satire breathe, and do not get annoying about it.
Johnson’s Star Wars baggage (the useful kind)
Context matters here. Johnson made the much-debated 'The Last Jedi' back in 2017, then pivoted into his Knives Out saga. He says Star Wars is baked into his brain from childhood — the kind of myth that can feel almost religious — and, since he grew up very Christian, he filtered those movies through that lens. When he tells a story now, those values and that mythic wiring inevitably slip in. Hence a joke that hits fandom, power, and self-mythologizing all at once.
The new case
'Wake Up Dead Man' finds Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) wading into a particularly thorny crime centered on a Catholic church in upstate New York. It’s moodier, messier, and, yes, more pointed — the Star Wars bit is not an accident; it’s part of the texture.
Who shows up
- Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc
- Daryl McCormack as Cy Draven
- Josh O'Connor as Father Jud
- Glenn Close
- Josh Brolin
- Mila Kunis
- Jeremy Renner
- Kerry Washington
- Andrew Scott
- Cailee Spaeny
'Wake Up Dead Man' is now streaming on Netflix.