With the release date of Wake Up ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man: A Knives Out Mystery likely to be confirmed soon, Netflix has given us another sneak peek at Benoit Blanc’s new look. Knives Out writer and director Rian Johnson previously shared an image of Daniel Craig shooting the detective saga’s third installment last June, with the actor’s long hair causing quite a stir. Now we have confirmation that his lengthy locks aren’t just a red herring featured in one scene of the movie. It’s official: Benoit Blanc has grown his hair out.

The character sports the same haircut in this new picture as he did in the first image Johnson shared of Craig playing Blanc in Knives Out 3 last year. With some gray stubble and a brown three-piece suit completing the look, Blanc looks wizened and stoic, framed by the suitably historical decor of a London church. His new look is possibly related to the nature of his latest case, for which he’s come to the city that originated the modern detective story.

Benoit Blanc’s Looks Always Change Depending On Where The Knives Out Movie Is Set

His Outfits Tend To Match The Settings For His Cases

It could be as simple as this latest change in setting requiring a new look for Blanc. He donned a casual suit in the first Knives Out movie, which featured a tweed jacket complete with pocket square, and a matching tie. Blanc’s outfits in Glᴀss Onion: A Knives Out Mystery largely consisted of beachwear, as he visited Miles Bron’s private island. Craig’s wardrobe included some classic sailing shirts, a linen suit, and, of course, Blanc’s elegant pink cravat. Now, it seems, as a mark of his reverence for old-fashioned English style, Blanc is going all out with his freshest look yet.

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While each of these looks is different from the others, they all share the same sense of elegance and sophistication which has made Blanc stand out from other modern-day detectives. His appearance has a timeless quality to it, at once contemporary but steeped in history and tradition, just like the Knives Out series itself. Nevertheless, nothing about any of his looks is quite as bold as the dramatic change in hairstyle he now seems to have adopted. No wonder Josh Brolin is concerned about starring in this latest Knives Out alongside Craig.

Why Knives Out 3 Gave Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc Long Hair

It Could Be A Playful Homage To A Classic Fictional Detective

There’s no explanation forthcoming as yet from either Johnson or Craig about why Benoit Blanc hasn’t been to the barber for a while in Netflix’s image for Knives Out 3. It could even be that the haircut relates to a surprising plot twist, in which case this secret will likely be kept тιԍнтly under wraps until the movie is released. Given Johnson’s penchant for a meta-joke, however, it’s highly likely that Blanc’s haircut will be a topic up for discussion within Wake Up ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man itself.

What’s more, there’s probably a playful homage afoot here, as both previous Knives Out films have doffed their caps affectionately in the direction of other detective stories. Since Blanc’s long hair inevitably has something to do with his latest movie’s setting, we can hazard a guess that it’s a reference to London’s most famous resident detective. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes resided in Britain’s capital, on Baker Street, close to Regent’s Park.

Conan Doyle’s own sketches of Holmes show him with a closely cropped widow’s peak and, most notably, a deerstalker hat. However, the two most high-profile screen adaptations of the character portray him with a haircut not dissimilar to Blanc’s in Wake Up ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Both Benedict Cumberbatch, in the BBC’s Sherlock, and Robert Downey Jr, in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes film series, rendered Holmes with a foppish mop of neck-length hair. Perhaps they’re the inspiration behind Benoit Blanc’s new look.