Writer/director Jordan Peele says that he wrote Universal Pictures’ upcoming extraterrestrial horror movie, Nope, with audience reactions in mind.
Director Jordan Peele intended for his latest horror movie, Nope, to evoke a specific reaction from theatrical audiences.
“Well, you know, I wrote it in a time when we were a little bit worried about the future of cinema,” Peele said in an interview with Fandango. “So the first thing I knew is I wanted to create a spectacle. I wanted to create something that the audience would have to come see.” He continued, “It’s a horror epic, but it has some points in it that are meant to elicit a very audible reaction in the theater.”
The first trailer for Nope debuted on Sunday, Feb. 13 just ahead of Super Bowl LVI. Universal Pictures recently released the final trailer for the upcoming alien abduction film, which stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yuen. The film will also star Michael Wincott, Barbie Ferreira and Brandon Perea. Nope marks the third horror movie written and directed by Peele, preceded by critically acclaimed psychological horror films Get Out in 2017, which also starred Kaluuya, and Us in 2019.
Nope will follow James and Jilly Haywood (Kaluuya and Palmer) as they investigate the strange extraterrestrial occurrences on their horse ranch following the death of their father. Before the release of the official trailer, details surrounding the plot of Nope were scarce. A teaser poster for the film shared by Peele only featured a lone rain cloud with a kite tail attached floating above a small valley town. Another poster featured a horse being lifted into the sky by an unseen force, teasing an otherworldly threat. Kaluuya and Palmer’s castings in the film were announced in February 2021, and principal photography on Nope began months later in July 2021.
Peele made his directorial debut with Get Out in 2017, following his success as one half of the comedy duo Key & Peele alongside Keegan-Michael Key. Peele would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 90th Academy Awards for his work on Get Out, with Kaluuya nominated for Best Actor. He followed Get Out with Us, starring Lupita Nyong’o.
Peele has stated that he is no longer interested in acting, preferring to write, direct and produce films instead as the CEO of his own production company, Monkeypaw Productions. He served as a producer on the remake of Candyman, directed by Nia DaCosta, as well as the remake of Wes Craven’s 1991 horror satire The People Under the Stairs. “I can watch the films I direct [but] watching me perform just feels like, it’s a bad kind of masturbatory,” Peele said. “It’s masturbation you don’t enjoy.”
Nope is set to premiere in theaters on July 22.
Source: YouTube