The 69th BFI London Film Festival will open on 8 October with the international premiere of Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” organisers confirmed, naming the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall as the gala venue and promising simultaneous preview screenings across the UK.
Daniel Craig reprises detective Benoit Blanc opposite Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Andrew Scott and others, forming what the festival calls an all-star ensemble.
Johnson said London, “birthplace of the golden age of detective fiction,” is a fitting stage for the franchise’s latest case, noting that the series last visited the event when “Glass Onion” closed the 2022 edition.
Festival director Kristy Matheson promised “twists, turns and verve” as the thriller kicks off a programme that runs 8–19 October, with the full line-up due on 3 September.
Industry chatter indicates the film will first bow at Toronto in September before heading to London, mirroring the rollout of its predecessors.
Principal photography wrapped in the United Kingdom last summer after development was held up by the 2023 writers’ strike.
Netflix, which paid about $450 million for the second and third chapters, intends to stream the sequel on 12 December following a limited theatrical window still being finalised.
Johnson has publicly urged the company to book the film “in as many theatres as possible,” countering internal scepticism about extended big-screen runs.
Selecting the whodunit continues the festival’s relationship with the Knives Out series—its 2019 gala screened the original film—and supports a strategy of pairing marquee premieres with nationwide satellite events.
The move also spotlights the UK production base behind the franchise at a time when release models for streamer-backed titles remain in flux.
