Wake Up Dead Man (2025) is not just another sequel in the popular A Knives Out Mystery franchise—it is being positioned as the darkest and most gothic Benoit Blanc case yet, and its filming locations play a major role in shaping that mood.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the Netflix-backed mystery brings back Daniel Craig as the sharp but soft-spoken detective Benoit Blanc, surrounded by a large ensemble cast that includes Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.
The Knives Out 3 film revolves around an “impossible” murder connected to a church congregation, with Blanc teaming up with a young priest to uncover the truth. Faith, secrecy, and long-buried lies form the backbone of the story, and to visually support those themes, the production chose historic and atmospheric locations across England, even though the story itself is set in a small New York town.
Filming officially began on June 10, 2024, and wrapped in mid-August 2024, following a tight summer schedule. Throughout this period, the cast and crew were based entirely in the UK, using real churches, forest landscapes, and studio-built interiors to create the film’s moody world. According to production details and location sightings, the primary filming areas included Essex, London, Hertfordshire, and Suffolk.
One of the most important real-world locations used in the movie is Holy Innocents Church in High Beech, located within Epping Forest, Essex. The church and its surrounding graveyard were used for several key exterior scenes and serve as the visual anchor of the story’s central mystery.
With its stone architecture, isolated woodland setting, and quiet rural surroundings, the church naturally delivers the gothic tone the film is aiming for. During filming, set photos showed Daniel Craig and Josh O’Connor working on the church grounds, confirming its importance to the plot. The location’s peaceful appearance contrasts sharply with the dark secrets explored in the film.
Nearby areas of Epping Forest, including spots around Butler’s Retreat and Chingford, were also used for select outdoor and background scenes. These forest-edge locations help establish the feeling of a close-knit town surrounded by nature—beautiful on the surface, but hiding unsettling truths beneath. Though these areas appear briefly, they add realism and depth to the setting.
For interior scenes, the production moved to Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, one of the UK’s most well-known filming facilities. Many of the large indoor sequences, including the chapel interiors, were not filmed inside the real church.
Instead, they were fully constructed on soundstages, allowing the filmmakers to design a bigger, more dramatic space than the actual parish church could offer. This also gave the crew complete control over lighting and camera movement, which is crucial for a dialogue-heavy mystery with a large cast.
In addition to these confirmed locations, the production has also been linked to Woodhall Manor in Suffolk, a historic estate known for its oak-paneled rooms and classic English architecture.
While Netflix has not officially credited the manor, local reports suggest it may have been used for scenes involving private estates or parish-connected residences, which would align perfectly with the film’s somber tone.
Behind the scenes, Rian Johnson publicly marked the start of filming on social media and later confirmed that production wrapped smoothly in August 2024. Early festival reactions and promotional material have highlighted the film’s darker atmosphere, setting it apart from the lighter, more playful tone of earlier Knives Out entries.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery had its world premiere at TIFF on September 6, 2025, followed by a limited theatrical release on November 26, 2025. The film began streaming globally on Netflix on December 12, 2025.
By blending real English parish exteriors, forest locations, and carefully designed studio sets, the filmmakers successfully transformed the UK countryside into a convincing American small town. The result is a visually rich, unsettling backdrop that perfectly suits Benoit Blanc’s most dangerous and morally complex case yet, making Wake Up Dead Man one of the most anticipated mystery films of the year.
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