Daniel Craig returns as the great detective Benoit Blanc in Wake Up Dead Man (pictured here with co-star Josh O’Connor). Writer/director Rian Johnson will be in attendance at this year’s festival where he will also receive this year’s Bill Wittliff award during the writer’s conference. Credit: Image Courtesy of Netflix

The mystery of what’s playing at this year’s Austin Film Festival has been partially revealed. AFF has announced the Texas premiere of the new adventure of detective Benoit Blanc, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Meanwhile director Rian Johnson will be this year’s recipient of the Bill Wittliff Award for Screenwriting.

It marks a fitting return as Johnson’s modern murder mystery homage to Agatha Christie has a long history with film festivals in the ATX. The first film in the series, Knives Out, played as the closing night film at Fantastic Fest 2019, while the sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery screened at AFF in 2022.

The films have become a massive success for Netflix. As Johnson told the Chronicle in 2019, they are a return to “the all-star circus” filmmaking of the 1970s. Both prior movies have a jam-packed cast list, and Wake Up Dead Man is no exception, with Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church all appearing in Johnson’s newest mystery. Plus, of course, Craig returning as Blanc, the man with a nose for murder and an eye for the most unexpected clues.

Rian Johnson Credit: Photo by Emily Soto
Not only does the film receive its Texas premiere during the festival, but Johnson will also become the latest recipient of the Bill Wittliff award. Named after the legendary Texas screenwriter who penned the scripts for Lonesome Dove, The Perfect Storm, and Legends of the Fall, previous winners include Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (Ed Wood), Buck Henry (The Graduate), Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Frank Pierson (A Star Is Born), Nancy Meyers (Private Benjamin), and Scott Frank (Out of Sight).

Johnson will accept the honor at the Oct. 25 Awards Luncheon alongside previously announced honorees Christine Vachon, who will take home the Polly Platt Award for Producing, and Living Single creator and Outstanding Television Writer Award recipient Yvette Lee Bowser.

AFF co-founder and Executive Director, Barbara Morgan described Johnson as “an incredibly gifted screenwriter and visionary filmmaker whose body of work and generosity to the next generation of storytellers exemplifies this award. His latest installment in the Knives Out Mystery canon, Wake Up Dead Man, solidifies his singular talent for combining intricate plotting, sharp comedic sense, and character-driven emotional impact to deliver an always unexpected, wildly entertaining story. Our audience will be delighted to experience this twisting, turning, captivating caper on the silver screen this October.”

Saying he was “honored” by the award, Johnson added that “I love the AFF and its support of established and emerging writers, and attending will be both a pleasure and a welcomed excuse to procrastinate on my own writing.”

Austin Film Festival takes place Oct. 23-30, and the Writers Conference runs Oct. 23–26. Passes and info at austinfilmfestival.com.

This article appears in July 25 • 2025.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.