In 2019, director Rian Johnson introduced the Knives Out franchise to the world. The razor-sharp whodunit starred Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc, followed by a star-studded ensemble cast that included Michael Shannon (Nine Perfect Strangers), Jamie Lee Curtis, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, and Christopher Plummer. The murder mystery was an instant box office hit, grossing $312.9 million worldwide, and even received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay.  

Following the first installment’s critical success, Johnson handed over the rights to Netflix in a reported $450 million deal. The highly anticipated sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which premiered in 2022, saw Craig reprise his role as the famous P.I. accompanied by Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Katheryn Kahn, Madelyn Cline, and Dave Bautista. This time around, the starry group was gathering clues on a private island and not at the palatial Thrombey Estate. In Glass Onion’s first week of streaming, the flick joined Netflix’s most-watched movies of all time and became one of the platform’s biggest film debuts, Variety reported.  

Since then, fans have been eagerly awaiting a threequel—and the return of Craig as everyone’s favorite Southern sleuth. Up until May, the fate of the franchise was up in the air, but Johnson has since given the people an update. Find out everything you need to know about Knives Out 3, below.  

Will There Be a Knives Out 3? 

Yes, Johnson announced in a video posted to X that a third Knives Out, called Wake Up Dead Man, is in the works. Johnson will return as the writer and director and reunite with his producing partner Ram Bergman. The two previously worked together on the original and the sequel, Glass Onion. In the clip, Craig’s character teased that it’s his “most dangerous case yet.” 

“I love everything about whodunnits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is,” Johnson wrote on X. “There’s a whole tonal spectrum from Carr to Christie, and getting to explore that range is one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies. We’re about to go into production on the 3rd one, and I’m very, very excited to share the title, which gives a little hint of where it’s going.” 

Johnson later shared on June 10 that shooting for the mystery had officially begun along with a black-and-white photo of Craig in character. The movie’s title is inspired by the 1997 U2 song of the same name. “Pop is a very underrated album, and that song is very right for the title,” Johnson told Netflix’s Tudum site. “But I’ve had ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ in my head for a long while, and I first heard the phrase in American folk music.” Johnson previously drew inspiration for the first Knives Out from a famous Radiohead track, while Glass Onion shares the same name as the 1968 Beatles anthem.

When Will Knives Out 3 Be Released?

Johnson has confirmed that the next installment in the Knives Out series is slated for a 2025 release on Netflix. That’s obviously a big window, but we’ll try to put the clues together as to when the movie could arrive. If you recall, the first film premiered on November 27, 2019. The sequel then debuted on November 23, 2022, but was pulled out of theaters after one week and moved to Netflix on December 23, 2022. So we wouldn’t be surprised if Knives Out 3 hit the streamer around Thanksgiving or Christmas 2025. 

The Cast: Who Could Return? 

Johnson has confirmed that Craig will reprise his role as Benoit Blanc. So far, Craig’s character is the only one to return from the original and the 2022 sequel. Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Andrew Scott, Mila Kunis, and Kerry Washington also joined the star-studded cast. In addition, Josh O’Conner (Challengers, The Crown), Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church are set to appear in the forthcoming film.  

“We’ve been very lucky with each of these movies to have gathered some of my favorite actors on the planet, and that’s absolutely the case here,” Johnson said, speaking to Tudum. “They’re also all lovely folks who get along, which is the dinner party aspect of it. When you’re making an ensemble movie like this I think that’s key.” 

Those who have seen Glass Onion might remember there were quite a few Renner jokes woven throughout the film, including that the actor has his own line of hot sauce called Renning Hot. “Jeremy’s a great actor who I’ve wanted to work with for a long time,” Johnson continued. “I was very relieved he thought the hot sauce thing was funny! He’s playing a proper part in this one, we’ll keep the sauce off-screen. Maybe we’ll sneak a few bottles onto the catering table.” 

How to Watch Knives Out 3  

Considering Netflix bought the rights to Knives Out, that’s where you’ll be able to watch Wake Up Dead Man once it’s released. In the meantime, anyone with a subscription to the platform can stream Glass Onion. The first Knives Out is currently available to rent on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, or Apple TV. 

• Pope Francis is set to meet to attend the Group of 7 (G-7) summit in Italy on June 14, 2024, where he will participate in talks about artificial intelligence.
• The Pope is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with President Biden among numerous other world leaders.
• Pope Francis would be the first pope to take part in G-7 discussions.

Pope Francis will meet with the leaders of the United States, Ukraine, France and India on the sidelines of the Group of 7 (G-7) summit in Italy’s Borgo Egnazia, the Vatican said on Thursday.

Francis, who in January warned against the “perverse” dangers of artificial intelligence, is due to take part in leaders’ talks on the new technology on Friday.

He is the first pope to take part in G-7 discussions.

SPOTLIGHT ON ITALY’S MELONI AS SHE HOSTS BIDEN, G-7 LEADERS AMID ONGOING GLOBAL CRISES

Issuing a program for his one-day appearance, the Vatican said Francis would have a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, a fellow Catholic.

The Vatican said he would also have one-on-one meetings with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, France’s Emmanuel Macron, India’s Narendra Modi, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kenya’s William Ruto, Algeria’s Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva.

On Wednesday, dozens of Havana residents gathered and watched as Russian warships sailed into Cuba’s main harbour – in the latest display of naval strength by Moscow amid heightened tensions with the United States.

The Caribbean nation is a neighbour of the US, which at its closest point, is just about 150 kilometres (94 miles) away, but have had tense relations for decades.

While it is not the first time Russian navy ships have visited Cuba, this convoy appears to be the largest in several years. The fleet is expected to stay between June 12 and 17 and the public will be allowed to take tours of the vessels.

Here’s what we know about why Russia has sent ships to Cuba now, how far back Russian-Cuban ties go, and why the two have gotten closer in the past year:

Why are the warships in Havana?

The flotilla is part of a “friendly” routine visit between the two countries’ navies, Cuban officials have said. The crew on board are expected to conduct military training exercises during their time in the Caribbean.

But analysts have said Moscow’s move is largely calculated to flex naval muscle in the US’s back yard. The detachment comes after escalating tensions between Russia and the US, following President Joe Biden’s decision in May to allow Ukraine to attack Russian targets with American weapons.

Russian President Putin has promised retaliation against not only the US, but also other Western allies of Ukraine who also removed restrictions on using their weapons against Moscow.

“That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way,” Putin said last week, adding that Moscow was ready to use nuclear weapons.

Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America programme at the Washington, DC-based Wilson Center think tank, told The Associated Press news agency that “the warships are a reminder to Washington that it is unpleasant when an adversary meddles in your [neighbourhood].”

The naval show-off is also meant to reassure Moscow’s Latin American allies – Cuba and Venezuela, of its continued support for them against Washington, some experts said.

Like Russia and Cuba, economically ravaged Venezuela has unpleasant relations with the US and is under American sanctions.

What ships did Russia deploy and how much of a threat are they?

The Russian fleet includes four vehicles in total.

• Admiral Gorshkov: is the lead ship in the convoy. The frigate – that is, a warship that is light to steer and can be easily manoeuvred – is one of the Russian navy’s most modern models. It is capable of carrying out long-range missile attacks and anti-submarine warfare while being difficult to spot with radars because of the use of stealth technology. The ship is equipped with Zircon hypersonic missiles, which Putin has in the past said can fly nine times faster than the speed of sound at a range of more than 1,000km (more than 620 miles). It also carries Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles.
• Kazan: is a nuclear-powered submarine and houses a nuclear reactor. The vehicle is also believed to be equipped with missiles from the Kalibr and Oniks families.
• Pashin – the fleet’s oil tanker, and a rescue tugboat – Nikolai Chiker – complete the convoy as support vehicles.

How has the US responded?

US officials are publicly downplaying the deployment, and say it is part of usual port-calls between Russia and Cuba.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Wednesday that such naval exercises were routine and that there were no signs Moscow was transferring missiles to Havana.

Last July, Perekop – a Russian training ship equipped with anti-aircraft guns and a rocket launcher – was on a four-day visit to Havana and conducted “a range of activities” according to Cuban officials. The Admiral itself visited in 2019.

“We have seen this kind of thing before, and we expect to see this kind of thing again, and I’m not going to read into it any particular motives,” Sullivan said, adding that the US would remain vigilant.

The US deployed ships and planes that monitored the movement of the fleet even before it arrived in Cuba and assessed there were no nuclear weapons on board, officials speaking to US media said, noting that the fleet stayed in international waters throughout.

What are Cuba and Russia saying?

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that the fleet had conducted drills in the Atlantic while on the way to Cuba.

The Russian crew practised using high-precision missile weapons with the aid of computer-simulated enemy ship targets located at a distance of more than 600km (more than 320 nautical miles), according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the Cuban Foreign Ministry, before the fleet’s arrival, stressed that none of the warships would carry nuclear weapons and added that their presence “does not represent a threat to the region”.

“Visits by naval units from other countries are a historical practice of the revolutionary government with nations that maintain relations of friendship and collaboration,” the ministry said in a statement.

Is this a replay of 1962?

Both Russia and Cuba have long been united in their opposition to the US. During the Cold War, their ties deepened intensely, as the then-Soviet Union befriended the ideologically aligned Havana. Moscow provided financial aid, military equipment, and naval training, boosting the country’s military might in the Caribbean.

Things came to a head in 1962 when Moscow transferred nuclear weapons to Cuba, prompting a response from the US, which imposed a naval blockade on Havana in response. That tense episode is now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

The fall of the Soviet Union saw Cuba lose a major economic partner and fall into economic depression. But in recent years, the countries’ cooperation has again deepened.

Analysts have said this week’s naval show-off marked that intensifying relationship, but noted that it does not necessarily mean a rehash of events in 1962. Rather, Cuba, in particular, is again drawn to Russia for economic reasons, rather than ideology.

How have their economic ties deepened in the past year?

In the longest-lasting trade sanctions in modern history, the US has since 1958 banned American entities from trading with Cuba – following Fidel Castro’s overthrow of a US-backed government in Havana.

Although the sanctions have been eased at different times, they have largely remained over the years. In 2015, US President Barack Obama decided to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba after 50 years, but his successor Donald Trump reversed course nearly four years later.

That has partly contributed to a continuing economic crisis in the Caribbean country – alongside shaky government economic policies – analysts said.

“The blockade qualifies as a crime of genocide,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said at a UN General Assembly meeting in November, referring to the US sanctions.

Deteriorating public services, regular power cuts, food and fuel shortages, and high inflation have pushed Cuba into its worst economic crisis in decades.

In recent years, Cuba has again turned to Russia, aiming to draw foreign investors. The two countries, last May, kicked off a series of economic partnerships, including one that will allow Russian businesses to lease Cuban land for 30 years – an unusual move in the largely closed-off country.

Bilateral trade between Cuba and Russia reached $450m in 2022, three times that of 2021, Russian officials said. About 90 percent of the trade comprised sales of petroleum products and soy oil, as Russia pumps in badly needed fuel to the country.

Ricardo Cabrisas, Cuba’s former minister of foreign commerce, told reporters on the sidelines of a business forum hosting Russian investors in Havana last May that the economic ties between Russia and Cuba would only grow stronger.

“Nothing and no one can stop it,” Cabrisas said.