More blades keep getting added to the call sheet for Netflix and Rian Johnson’s highly anticipated murder mystery film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Now, Thomas Haden Church will be joining the cast of the film, according to TheWrap, adding to an already stacked ensemble that is sure to draw audiences into the third installment of Johnson‘s Knives Out series, which will once again star Daniel Craig as the charming Southern detective Benoit Blanc.

Church‘s role in the film remains a mystery, an unsurprising fact given that pretty much everything else about Wake Up Dead Man is under wraps too. But Church is joining one of the most stacked casts in recent memory; beyond Craig, Josh O’Connor and Cailee Spaeny were the first major names to be added to the cast. This was followed up by the additions of Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis, and Daryl McCormack. More names are likely on the way given that the first two films, Knives Out and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, also had hugely packed casts.

The first two films, directed by Johnson, were highly lauded, so it will surely make fans happy that he is returning to the director’s chair for Wake Up Dead Man. Johnson is directing from a self-written script and is producing the film alongside his longtime producing partner, Ram Bergman, for their T-Street Productions banner.

Church Is a Well-Known Film Actor and Marvel Villain

Church has become a highly acclaimed actor over the years, garnering an Academy Award nomination for his role in the 2004 film Sideways. To most mainstream audiences, though, Church is likely best known for his role as the villainous Sandman in a pair of Spider-Man films. He first appeared as the web-slinger’s enemy opposite Tobey Maguire in Sony Pictures‘ Spider-Man 3 in 2007, where his Sandman was simply trying to find a cure for his sick daughter. Church would reprise his role – and enter the MCU – in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, rejoining Maguire as an alternate universe Spider-Man 14 years after they last shared the screen. Beyond this, Church is also known for roles in films like Easy A and We Bought a Zoo. He recently starred in Peacock‘s Twisted Metal series and will have a role in Kevin Costner’s upcoming Western film anthology Horizon: An American Saga.

Given his role as Sandman, it would be easy to see Church as a villain in Wake Up Dead Man, but this remains to be seen. However, the first two films became cultural mainstays when they were released, and there’s a good chance this happens again given the stacked cast of Johnson‘s threequel. The first film in the series, released by Lionsgate, earned more than $300 million at the global box office, prompting Netflix to ink a massive $450 million deal with Johnson for two more films.

Wake Up Dead Man will be released in 2025. The prior film in the series, Glass Onion, is streaming on Netflix now.

via Collider