The ‘Star Wars’ Gag in ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Is Pure Rian Johnson

If you’re looking for excellent 2025 releases to watch while you’re home for the holidays, look no further than Netflix. Warner Bros.’ (almost) new owner has several fantastic original films now streaming, from Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and the George Clooney-starring Jay Kelly to Jyn Erso and Owen Lars (Felicity Jones and Joel Edgerton) in Train Dreams, as well as KPop Demon Hunters and more.

The best of the bunch, though, might be Rian Johnson’s third Knives Out movie, Wake Up Dead Man. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns to solve another murder, with a star-studded cast and more twists and turns than ever. It’s our favorite of the bunch, and part of that is a perfect Star Wars joke that comes about halfway through the film.

We won’t spoil how the film ends, but this does involve a mid-movie reveal.

About halfway through the film, we learn that Cy (Daryl McCormack) is the son of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). In a flashback, we watch the social media-savvy Cy tell his father about how they can use social media to make him into a celebrity. Possibly even the president. “Together we can build a real empire, as father and son,” Cy tells Wicks. We then cut to the present, where Father Jud (Josh O’Connor) says what the audience is thinking. “Like in Star Wars?” Cy then replies, “Yeah, exactly, like the Rebels.” And Jud gives him that look of, “I think you mean Empire, but we’ll let it go.”

In the context of the film, the joke works because it’s funny and tells us a bit about Cy, Wicks’ plan, and Jud’s understanding. But it also works on another level.

Before the Knives Out films, writer-director Rian Johnson made a little film called Star Wars: The Last Jedi. That film was, in some circles, wildly misinterpreted. People were mad that Luke Skywalker sacrificed himself, when that was the most Jedi thing he could have done. People were mad about the long scene at Canto Bight, when it was crucial to Finn’s journey. People were mad at Snoke being killed, when that was the exact type of bold storytelling that made The Empire Strikes Back everyone’s favorite Star Wars film. The list goes on and on.

And so, Johnson putting in a joke about this man wildly misinterpreting Star Wars feels very pointed. Maybe even cathartic. Cy is an idiot, and, well, maybe Johnson feels similarly about other people, too. Or, maybe, Star Wars just works differently depending on who is watching it. Whatever the case, having such a quick aside become so layered is pure Rian Johnson.

See that joke, and many others, in one of the best films of 2025, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, streaming on Netflix.

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