Knives Out 3: Is Jeremy Renner Playing Himself in Wake Up Dead Man?

Will the fact that Glass Onion referenced Jeremy Renner factor into Wake Up Dead Man?

By Jamie Jirak

Earlier this week, it was announced that Rian Johnson's third Benoit Blanc mystery starring Daniel Craig would be titled Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. The film's casting announcements have been puring in, and the list includes Josh O'Connor, Kerry Washington, Glenn Close, Cailee Spaeny, Andrew Scott, Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis, and Daryl McCormack. Renner is an especially interesting choice considering the previous film in the series, Glass Onion, referenced the actor. In the film, the Marvel star had his own brand of hot sauce, which ended up playing an important role in the film. Does that mean Renner could be playing himself in Wake Up Dead Man? 

The plot of Wake Up Dead Man is currently unknown, but there are already a lot of theories going around online. While Renner does exist in the Knives Out universe, that hasn't stopped projects from using actors they've referenced before. A famous example of this is that the guys in Friends are big fans of Die Hard, but Bruce Willis appears on the show as a fictional character. In fact, this sort of happened in the Knives Out universe already...

In Knives Out, the hit musical Hamilton is referenced. In Glass Onion, Leslie Odom Jr., who originated the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway, played Lionel Toussaint. While Knives Out didn't mention Odom Jr. by name, the actor is pretty synonymous with Hamilton. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for playing Burr. 

While it could be fun to see Renner in Wake Up Dead Man peddling some hot sauce, it feels like his role in the movie could go either way. Some fans are already speculating the actor could be the killer considering the murdererss in both Knives Out and Glass Onion were played by MCU stars: Chris Evans (Steve/RogersCaptain America) and Edward Norton (the original Bruce Banner/Hulk before Mark Ruffalo took over the role). 

Related:

Wake Up Dead Man is Jeremy Renner's First Film Since His Accident:

At the start of 2023, Renner suffered serious injuries during a snowplow accident and underwent surgery. The actor spent most of last year recovering and sharing updates about his healing process. This year, Renner officially went back to work to film the third season of The Mayor of Kingstown. However, Johnson's Wake Up Dead Man marks the actor's first feature film since the accident.

Stay tuned for more updates on Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. 

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