Even though the teaser trailer for Wake Up Dead Man, the latest installment in the Knives Out franchise, has just been released, the director of the murder mystery films, Rian Johnson, is already answering questions on how this one will differ from the rest. 

In his interview with Rolling Stone’s Alan Sepinwall, Johnson described Wake Up Dead Man as “incredibly different from Glass Onion,” the second installment of the series and the most critical and decisive one so far. He explains further that, “It’s much more a Gothic, much more grounded tone. It’s more similar to the first one in that way.” Johnson also says that this third film dives “back into the real origins of the genre,” which predates the classic murder mystery writer Agatha Christie and goes “back to [Edgar] Allen Poe.” From the teaser trailer alone, viewers can see a darker tone shift in the score, setting, and even the color range. The teaser’s plot material is more serious as well, as the clips shown feature “weighty conversations about religion and death.” Only once the film is released will we know for sure if this tone shift will help or hinder the legacy of the Knives Out mystery series.

Wake Up Dead Man sees the return of Daniel Craig as the famed private detective Benoit Blanc, accompanied by a whole new ensemble 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. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery begins streaming on Netflix on December 12.