Jeremy Renner’s casting in Rian Johnson’s Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery immediately raised a deliciously nerdy question: how does a guy who was already a hilarious punchline in Glass Onion, playing himself in the now infamous “Jeremy Renner Hot Sauce,” now show up as a flesh-and-blood character without breaking the bit? The actor explains how his new role works in relation to this ridiculous Glass Onion cameo.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly at TIFF, the Hawkeye actor joked about the whole continuity issue. He made it clear this was never his problem to figure out, and here’s what he had to say:
I wasn't part of that discussion, but I know it was talked about it. I don't know what they said.
The short answer is: the hot-sauce gag and a real character can coexist. Glass Onion’s “Renning Hot!” bit is a classic Rian Johnson crowd moment, but a cheeky name-drop doesn’t erase a role in Knives Out 3.
The Wind River star clarifies his role, saying he’s playing Dr. Nat Sharp in Wake Up Dead Man, a guy who’s almost certainly never sampled Renning Hot!. The actor continued:
He has no idea who he is. He's a sad doctor. He isn't watching movies, man. He's a sad man. That's the archetype I play: dad in crisis.
Renner’s “sad doctor” pitch tracks with what we’ve been hearing about the 2025 movie schedule entry. The first teaser for Wake Up Dead Man hinted at a moody, almost gothic vibe—distinct from the brighter motifs of the first two films. Early viewers have echoed that shift, praising a noticeably darker tone than the previous Knives Out installments.
If Knives Out skewered the 1 percent and Glass Onion torched tech-bro bluster, Wake Up Dead Man looks ready to probe small-town archetypes—according to the same reporting. It’s a rich arena for Johnson’s blend of puzzle-box plotting and razor jokes… and a perfect space for Renner’s “dad in crisis” to fold pathos into the sleight of hand.
Based on the new Wake Up Dead Man trailer, we know the third entry in the mystery franchise sends Benoit Blanc after the murder of a priest—and, as teased, it looks like his toughest case yet. The religious iconography from the earlier teaser returns in fuller force, and the gothic undertones deepen.
Writer-director Rian Johnson is back with Wake Up Dead Man, dropping Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) into what may be his riskiest puzzle yet after Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) turns up dead. The suspect pool is stacked: Jeremy Renner, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.
And the hot sauce problem? It’s not a problem at all. Knives Out movies have always embraced elastic reality: real brands, real celebs, real ephemera humming in the background. The presence of a novelty bottle doesn’t preclude the presence of a broken man in a lab coat.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery hits theaters November 26, then lands on streaming for everyone with a Netflix subscription on December 12. Until then, Glass Onion is streaming—hot-sauce sequence and all—on one of the best streaming services if you need a spicy refresher.
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