Kerry Washington to join ‘Knives Out 3’
The “Knives Out” franchise has built a reputation for casting Hollywood’s A-list, with Janelle Monáe and Leslie Odom Jr. appearing in the second film.
Kerry Washington is headed to the world of “Knives Out.”
The actress will star in the upcoming mystery sequel alongside Daniel Craig, who will return as detective Benoit Blanc, according to Variety. “Challengers” star Josh O’Connor, actor Andrew Scott, and actress Cailee Spaeny join Washington and Craig in the new film.
The “Knives Out” franchise has built a reputation for casting Hollywood’s A-list, with Janelle Monáe and Leslie Odom Jr. appearing in the second film “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” Rian Johnson is returning to direct and write the third film, which is titled “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.”
Johnson and Craig have shared that the third film is Benoit’s “most dangerous case yet,” but official plot details have not yet been shared, according to Variety. “Wake Up Dead Man” will begin production soon, Variety reported, with a 2025 expected release.
Washington has been a mainstay in the industry for years, starring in hit films and shows, including “Scandal,” “Little Fires Everywhere,” “Ray,” “Save the Last Dance” and “Django Unchained.” She currently appears in Hulu’s “UnPrisoned,” which she also executive produces.
The 47-year-old starlet released her memoir, “Thicker Than Water,” in 2023. The book dives into many of Washington’s life experiences, including her time on “Scandal,” growing up in the Bronx, and the revelation that she recently discovered her father, Earl Washington, was not her biological father.
“I found out that my dad who raised me is not my biological father,” Washington told Erika D. Smith at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, per People. “And it was something that my parents had intended to not tell me ever, but they were kind of forced into telling me.”
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“I felt like if I was going to write about myself, I had to write about these deeper truths,” the actress shared at the time. “I had to include this much bigger life-changing information.”
Washington added that one of her “first impulses” when she found out her true parentage was to “tell my dad how much I loved him and to tell him that nothing was going to change and that nothing would be different.”
“My love for him…my love and my intimacy with my parents has deepened with this exchange of information because I think when we keep secrets, particularly family secrets, it’s usually because we’re so afraid that if that truth gets revealed that we won’t be lovable anymore, that we won’t be loved, that there will be resentment and anger about whatever it is the secret was that was kept,” Washington said.
“And so I think once the weight of that secret got lifted, there was a lot more room for my parents and for me to be who we really are with each other.”
