Nope: Jordan Peele Calls Latest Film a “Spectacle”

Sketch comedian turned Academy Award-winning director Jordan Peele only has three projects in his directorial filmography, but is already eyeing a hat trick of box office smashes. Following the critically-acclaimed Get Out and the festival standout Us is Nope, another ambiguous tale that blends horror with comedy.

Speaking to Fandango, Peele noted his biggest priority with Nope was to make a film made for the theater. 

“I wrote it in a time when we were a little bit worried about the future of cinema,” Peele said. “So the first thing I knew is [that] I wanted to create a spectacle. I wanted to create something that the audience would have to come see. I set my sights on the great American UFO story that we see here. The movie itself deals with spectacle and the good and bad that come with from this idea of attention.”

The former Key & Peele star added that he’s hoping his latest directorial endeavor evokes actual audible emotion from audiences.

“It’s a horror epic but it has some points in it that meant to elicit a very audible reaction in the theater,” Peele said. “Hopefully when we see it we’re going to hear a lot of, ‘Nope!’”

Nope reunites Peele with Get Out leading man Daniel Kaluuya, who has spent the past five years accumulating accolades across the globe. The 2021 Best Supporting Actor shared his appreciation for Peele, noting how proud he is to be apart of his films.

“I was really proud of Jordan. That’s the reality,” Kaluuya said. “To be on someone’s first film is such a vulnerable moment. The fact that Get Out worked, then Us worked and he’s got to this level, and he’s able to have me a part of this and on this level of budget, I just felt really proud of Jordan.”

While Kaluuya is familiar with Peele’s work, the rest of the Nope cast are rookies within Monkeypaw Productions. Newcomer Brandon Perea (The OA, Doom Patrol) praised his director, saying he expects Nope to change cinema.

“I think Jordan’s changed cinema already, [and] he’s going to do it again,” Perea said. “They gave him an opportunity to do something on a massive scale. He’s operating on the highest level.

“People are going to be flipped upside down because they are not going to expect this from Jordan,” Perea continued. “Because I was reading this expecting something else, and then I was like, ‘Oh! That is like, way different than anything he’s ever done. Good! Surprise us.’”

Nope hits theaters on July 22.