Wake Up Dead Man

The new mystery takes Blanc to a small hamlet in upstate New York, where a bizarre death inside a church is presented as a miracle. The detective, however, dismisses the façade: “This was dressed as a miracle, it’s just a murder. And I solve murders.” The setting allows Johnson to lean into the gothic atmosphere and themes of faith and forgiveness, steering the franchise into darker, more philosophical territory.

Joining Craig is an ensemble as eclectic as ever: Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church. O’Connor plays Rev. Jud Duplenticy, a young priest dispatched to assist Brolin’s Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, who becomes central to the unraveling mystery. As Johnson notes, “The secret to each one of these movies is that Benoit Blanc is not the main character… Josh’s character Jud is that character in this movie.”