The new Knives Out gets a little more Scandalous

Yesterday, we declared that it was officially Knives Out casting season (a.k.a., the “cinephile’s version of the NBA draft”), and Rian Johnson just continues to deliver. For all of you betting types out there, the next Benoit Blanc mystery—officially titled Wake Up Dead Man—is clearly angling for the top of the league. Having already claimed number one seeds like Josh O’Connor (Challengers), Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), and Andrew Scott (Ripley)—not to mention legacy player Daniel Craig—the Netflix film has also added Kerry Washington to its star-studded roster (per Deadline).

Washington is currently coming off production for a number of projects, including the second season of her Hulu show, Unprisoned, Tyler Perry-directed Netflix film Six Triple Eight, Eva Longoria film 24-7, and a thriller called Shadow Force. Most recently, she can be seen (well, heard) as the voice of Rayshelle Peyton in a few episodes of The Simpsons.

Like the others, we have no idea if Washington’s character will be a victim, suspect, or some extra twisty mix of the two. Maybe this will be a chance for her to step back into her old Scandal pumps and flex some of that classic Olivia Pope crisis management. We do know she can talk her way out of almost any situation, and she did do a brief two–episode stint on How To Get Away With Murder, so it seems like her character may, well, try to get away with murder. Or maybe the actor’s background is all a red herring and she’ll be as innocent as they come—who knows! Ahh, whodunnits; how they test our little gray cells.

The real truth is, we can’t be sure that Wake Up Dead Man will utilize a typical victim/suspect dichotomy at all. In a post on Twitter/X last week, Johnson wrote: “I love everything about whodunnits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is. There’s a whole tonal spectrum from Carr to Christie, and getting to explore that range is one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies.” In a short teaser, Daniel Craig also narrates that this is Benoit’s “most dangerous case yet.” Will that be due to the machinations of Washington or O’Connor or one of the film’s many other rumored stars? We’ll have to wait until 2025 (or the next casting announcement) to know for sure.