Here’s the ‘Twilight Zone’ Episode That Inspired Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’

Jordan Peele is responsible for bringing to life a new incarnation of The Twilight Zone, which will debut shortly after his new film, Us, lands in theaters. Interestingly, Peele recently shared that the “Mirror Image” episode of the original series is what inspired him to craft the story of Us.

“It’s terrifying, beautiful, really elegant storytelling,” Peele shared with Rolling Stone about the episode. “And it opens up a world. It opens up your imagination.”

The series is currently streaming on Netflix, which describes the Season One, Episode 21 installment, “While waiting in a bus station, Millicent Barnes has the strange feeling that her doppelganger is trying to take over her life.”

It’s easy to see how this classic episode has inspired Peele’s new film, which is described, “A mother (Academy Award-winner Lupita Nyong’o from Black Panther, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and 12 Years a Slave) and a father (Winston Duke from Black Panther) take their kids to their beach house expecting to unplug and unwind with friends (including Emmy winner Elizabeth Moss from TV series The Handmaid’s Tale). But as night descends, their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some shocking visitors arrive uninvited.”

Peele gained a passionate following for his comedic endeavors, such as his Comedy Central sketch series Key and Peele, which made fans appreciate his accomplishments in the horror genre with Get Out that much more. The film was undeniably a horror project, yet also featured plenty of hilarious exchanges between the characters. The filmmaker pointed out that the debates over whether or not it was truly a horror film frustrated him, given his admiration for the genre.

“I’m such a horror nut that the genre confusion of Get Out broke my heart a little. I set out to make a horror movie, and it’s kind of not a horror movie,” Peele confessed. “As a horror fan, I really wanted to contribute something to that world.”

The outlet then goes on to describe the film as follows: “Us, his new movie, is that contribution, unambiguously so. Get Out is existentially terrifying; Us is spill-your-soda scary. It’s the tale of a family facing off with unsettling doppelgängers of themselves, which Peele calls the Tethered — he means them to be a ‘monster mythology,’ in keeping with Universal’s Frankenstein/Dracula/Wolfman tradition. He’s taking some mischievous pleasure at the prospect of freaking out some of Get Out‘s more genteel fans.”

While Us is set to land in theaters on March 22nd, Peele’s The Twilight Zone, which he will host and narrate, debuts on CBS All Access on April 1st, likely inspiring future generations of horror filmmakers.

What are your thoughts on this episode of The Twilight Zone? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!