Rian Johnson is turning his dream casting wish list into a public appeal, naming Meryl Streep as the performer he most wants to bring into the Knives Out universe as his third Benoit Blanc mystery, Wake Up Dead Man, rolls out in theaters and on Netflix. The writer-director has already made three films built around Daniel Craig’s detective, yet says there is still one three-time Oscar winner he has in mind for a future case.
Speaking in recent interviews about his approach to assembling starry ensembles, Johnson said that working with new actors is one of the chief pleasures of the series, then addressed Streep directly. “If you’re reading this, Meryl Streep, I feel like you’d slot into a murder mystery very well,” he said, later adding that she would “kill it” and was “born to be in one of these movies” because of her comic instincts. He joked that her recent long-awaited Saturday Night Live debut proved she was fair game: if Lorne Michaels could persuade her to do the show, he should be able to convince her to join Benoit Blanc’s world.
Johnson has also been candid about the practical hurdles. He has admitted he does not know Streep personally, acknowledging that landing her would be a challenge even as he keeps the invitation open. Cast members are already cheering the idea on. Kerry Washington, who appears in Wake Up Dead Man and previously worked with Streep on The Prom, said she would urge the actor to sign on, calling the Knives Out experience “a dream” for those involved.
The director’s wish comes at a pivotal point for the franchise. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery opened in limited release on November 26 and will stream on Netflix from December 12, featuring Craig opposite Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington and Andrew Scott. The film concludes Johnson’s two-picture deal with Netflix, and while he and Craig have signaled interest in more cases, he has stressed that a fourth film is not yet in development and that he intends to make an original project before returning to Benoit Blanc.
Johnson has described each Knives Out entry as a standalone mystery built around contemporary concerns rather than a pre-planned arc, which makes the idea of Streep joining feel less like franchise engineering and more like an instinctive match. Streep, currently coming off three seasons of Only Murders in the Building and preparing to shoot The Devil Wears Prada 2 for a 2026 release, has given no public response to the invite. For now, Johnson’s comments function as both an open letter to one of cinema’s most decorated performers and a timely shot of casting speculation as Wake Up Dead Man moves from its theatrical run to streaming.
