Jordan Peele Was Worried About the Future of Cinema, So He Wrote ‘Nope’ as ‘The Great American UFO Story’

Christian Zilko
·2 min read
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In the five years since “Get Out” hit theaters, Jordan Peele has established himself as one of Hollywood’s most exciting purveyors of original genre films. His latest release, “Nope,” is one of the most anticipated releases of the summer, with its cryptic trailer promising another genre-bending, politically charged thriller from Peele, albeit one that includes UFOs.

The film, which stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as a brother and sister who run Hollywood’s only Black-owned horse ranch, has prompted plenty of speculation from cinephiles about its UFO plotlines. And while a new Jordan Peele movie will always be wrapped in mystery until the credits roll, the director has revealed a bit more info to tide fans over as they wait for the film to come out.

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In a new interview with Fandango, Peele opened up about his desire to create a large scale science fiction movie that would bring audiences back into theaters, and shed some light on the origin of the film’s mysterious title.

“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 I wanted to create a spectacle. I wanted to create something that the audience would have to come see.”

With spectacle on his mind, Peele turned to a subject that has provoked endless cinematic fascination over the years: aliens.

“So I set my sights on the great American UFO story,” he said. “And the movie itself deals with spectacle, and the good and bad that come from this idea of attention. It’s a horror epic, but it has some points in it that are meant to elicit a very audible reaction in the theater.”

Peele spent quite a bit of time thinking about the audible reactions he wanted to provoke from audiences, so much so that he named the movie after a word he wants audiences to yell in the theaters.

“So hopefully, when we go see it, we’re going to hear a lot of ‘nope!'” he said.

Universal Pictures will release “Nope” in theaters on Friday, July 22.  

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