A Conversation with Rian Johnson, Director of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

January 30th, 2026

22 mins 56 secs

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About this Episode

Rian Johnson, the director of Wake Up Dead Man, the third in the wildly popular Knives Out franchise on Netflix, chose a Catholic parish as the setting of his latest film for a variety of reasons, the main one being: Catholicism looks cool. And, let's be real, it is cool. Hear how this latest Knives Out movie is ultimately about a journey through some big ideas about community, faith, what we owe each other, and what we come to believe.