Knives Out's Rian Johnson admits he usually "avoids" writing the murder mystery part "until I can't anymore" – and Wake Up Dead Man was no different

News
By published

Exclusive: Wake Up Dead Man's Rian Johnson opens up on the process of writing a twisty whodunnit, as Josh O'Connor teases his character Jud's "beautiful" arc

Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc and Josh O'Connor as Jud Duplenticy in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
(Image credit: Netflix)

Where do you start writing a murder mystery? Do you have the final act reveal pinned down before you flesh out the characters and how it all kicks off? Not, it turns out, if your Knives Out writer-director Rian Johnson...

"I avoid writing [the murder mystery part] until I can't anymore, most glibly," the filmmaker laughs in a new interview with GamesRadar+. "I don't really start at the end or the beginning; I start zoomed out. I start with the most fundamental basics; I knew I wanted to do a locked-door mystery with this one. But the bigger aspect of all that is just what makes any other movie work; who's the protagonist? What do they want? Why can't they get it? What is the movie about, and how does that serve the theme?

"You kind of build the mystery around that, because the mystery you can kind of construct like a crossword puzzle – but the basic line of what the movie is about is what's actually going to support it for an audience," Johnson concludes.

Josh O'Connor as Rev. Jud Duplenticy in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

(Image credit: Netflix)

"I think what's so interesting about religion, generally, is that it's so easily interpreted in different ways – and can be so easily corrupted," says O'Connor. "A lot of Jud's arc was on the page from day one, and I was so thrilled to be asked to play him and to go on that journey, because I think I really recognized it.

"I felt I really recognized that turmoil and I saw a lacking of that kind of a story right now, in a time where I felt like we really need it. The beauty of Jud is that he doesn't... know, and a lot of the time he's questioning things," he continues. "Josh Brolin's character, Monsignor Wick, is much more certain about his views. There's something very interesting about playing a character who questions everything; it's a really good opening to approaching a role."

A thoughtful exploration of the perils of blind faith, the film's ensemble is made up of a whole host of complicated, often despicable supporting characters, including Glenn Close's pious zealot Martha Delacroix, Andrew Scott's misanthropic sci-fi author Lee Ross and Daryl McCormack's spoiled influencer-turned-wannabe politician Cy Draven.

"The magic of these films is that [Rian's] always tackling real-life situations, and they have that social relevancy," says McCormack. "There's plenty to just draw from in our current kind of world but I think, for me, when it comes to playing someone you might not inherently understand, you always have to find a doorway of empathy. Ultimately you have to try and not judge them and some of these characters are difficult not to judge."

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery releases in cinemas on November 26, arriving on Netflix worldwide on December 12. For more, check out our guide to all the other upcoming movies heading our way.

Amy West
Amy West
Entertainment Writer

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.