Jordan Peele and Randall Park Team Up for Historical Genre Movie

WandaVision and Blockbuster star Randall Park is developing what is being described as a “historical genre film” at Monkeypaw Productions, Jordan Peele’s company. The star is writing a script with Michael Golamco (Always Be My Maybe) that will reportedly use the lives of Japanese-American soldiers in World War II as a jumping-off point for what journalist Jeff Sneider, who broke the news in his The Insneider newsletter, claims could turn into Park’s next directorial feature after 2023’s Shortcomings (although that isn’t a sure thing, and there is no deal formally in place for that yet).

There isn’t much in the way of information about the project yet, since it’s in such early days. Per Sneider, it’s inspired by the estimated 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the U.S. military during and immediately after World War II. That number includes an estimated 800 who were killed in action. There’s no telling whether the “genre” part of the story would come into play on or off the battlefield. It will presumably be a while before anything much is known about the story.

Park rose to fame on Fresh Off the Boat and as one of the high points of the Ant-Man franchise during the heyday of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He reprised the role of Jimmy Woo in WandaVision, and given his popularity, there have been persistent rumors of a return, but nothing has manifested quite yet.

In the meantime, the character actor has become an in-demand star, with the lead role in Netflix’s Blockbuster and Always Be My Maybe. He has also had appearances on Young Rock and in Aquaman and the Lost City.

In the years since Get Out exploded, Jordan Peele has become one of the most celebrated genre directors of his generation, with each of his films being an “event movie,” in spite of relatively modest budgets for genre fare.