Knives Out 3’s new casting just made the biggest fan theory impossible
LionsgateThe latest star to be added to Knives Out 3 means the sequel’s biggest fan theory is dead, thanks to his involvement in a big franchise.
Every day, the Knives Out 3 cast list continues to grow. While some names have caused fans of the Rian Johnson mystery series to rejoice, others haven’t quite hit the mark. However, the latest announcement is a major win in the eyes of many, bringing Josh Brolin into the latest whodunnit adventure.
However, Brolin’s casting does signify the end of what was, for a while, the key fan theory surrounding the new movie. From the offset, speculation has been rife, with many fans pointing out that it’s easy to work out who will be the killer in Johnson’s next tale: it’ll be whoever is the big Marvel star in the cast.
This is a reference to both previous movies, Knives Out and Glass Onion. In the original murder mystery, the killer ended up being Chris Evan’s Ransom, a spoiled heir with a grudge. In Glass Onion, the murderer was Edward Norton’s Miles Bron, the evil founder of a tech company. In both cases, Evans and Norton are major Marvel movie stars.
Evans, of course, played Captain America for years, while Norton has his turn as the Hulk in the pre-MCU movies. Brolin, as we know, played Thanos, one of the best supervillains of all time. So logic would dictate that he would eventually be revealed as the killer in Knives Out 3. But there’s a spanner in the works, as he’s not the only one.
Anyone keeping up with the Knives Out 3 (titled Wake Up Dead Man) casting announcements will know that Jeremy Renner was previously brought aboard. Renner, who played Hawkeye in the superhero movies, means that Brolin is actually the second big-time Marvel name in the cast. So, according to fans, this throws the theory right out the window.
“Two MCU actors, they make it harder to figure out the killer,” said one X account.
“The only way to throw us off the killer’s scent is to have nothing but Marvel alums in the movie,” added another.
A third wrote: “Two Marvel actors now??? So the villain is def either Josh or Jeremy.”
“Brolin and Renner? The twist will be trying to figure out which MCU actor is actually the bad guy,” said a fourth.
Of course, those who’ve really been paying attention will know that the Knives Out trilogy has broken the pattern before. In Glass Onion, Norton was charged as being the killer, but Dave Bautista (Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies) was also in the cast. In fact, he was the first person to be murdered. However, the theory does still stick if you consider that Drax was not a primary Marvel character.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery begins production in June 2024. For more, check out all the best new movies to watch on streaming. Or, take a look at the new TV shows to watch this month.