Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Nope.
Jordan Peele's new horror movie proved just as intriguing as the trailers suggested, with the Nope ending revealing several mysteries surrounding what the "Craft" in the film is, and why it appeared to be terrorizing people while also serving as a tourist attraction. Nope stars Daniel Kaluuya as OJ Haywood, the brother of Keke Palmer's Emerald Haywood, who help run a horse ranch in the California desert, which supplies horses for film and TV productions. Steven Yeun plays Ricky 'Jupe' Park, a former child actor turned theme park owner, while Brandon Perea plays Angel, a tech store employee who gets wrapped up in The Haywood's wild journey. Michael Wincott rounds out the cast of Nope as a legendary cinematographer named Antlers Holst, with Keith David supplying a cameo as the elder Haywood.
Peele's Nope is filled with mystery and suspense, all revolving around the appearance of a strange "Craft" which is assumed to be a UFO from the get-go. After the untimely death of their father, both OJ and Emerald set about to figure out how to keep their ranch afloat, leading to their paths crossing with this phenomenon. OJ begins selling horses to Jupe, just as he has his first encounter with the "Craft", setting off a chain of events that are wrapped in mystery, unraveling with bait-and-switch moments, shocking reveals, and metaphoric flashbacks that make Nope a carefully constructed brain tease as well as an exciting sci-fi horror romp.
The Nope ending has The Haywoods, Angel, and Antlers teaming up to capture footage of the "Craft", which becomes a thrilling game of survival as well as a metaphoric journey that ties everything together in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. There's a lot to unpack surrounding the unusual horror movie, with some of it being very straightforward, and other aspects remaining more ambiguous.
What Was The Mysterious "Craft" In Nope And What Did It Want?
The UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) or UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) in Nope is actually a living, flying, alien being, rather than an actual space craft. It looks and moves very much like the prototypical UFO, but gives a whole new meaning to "abduction", as it essentially sucks up Earthbound items, including people, animals, and everything around them, feeding on the flesh and discarding the rest. The "Craft" is very much designed as a predatory being, which hunts its prey from the sky, disguising itself among the clouds, observing and waiting to make its move. The "Craft" in Nope simply appears to want to feed, but takes a special interest in OJ, Emerald, and the Haywood ranch, as if it seems to have found a more worthy prey to hunt - leading to the events of the Nope ending.
Why did the "Craft" Drop Metallic Objects (And Blood)?
The "Craft" in the sci-fi horror movie Nope feeds on living creatures, but inanimate objects (including anything metallic), prove to be bad for its digestion. The metallic objects included coins, keys, and anything else that could be found in the pockets of the "Craft's" human victims. Objects that can't be digested appear to anger the "Craft", as it gets set off when a horse statue it attempts to eat gets stuck in its mouth. While it appeared that the "Craft" digested most of its catches, at one point it showers blood on the Haywoods' home, which is likely from the batch of people it sucked up from Jupe's performance. The blood it showers down could be seen as a way for the "Craft" to show off its power, while also terrorizing its prey (The Haywoods) by showing them they have no chance against it - and also suggests it doesn't use the blood of its victims to survive.
Why Did The "Craft" Kill Some People And Didn't Kill Others?
The sci-fi alien in Peele's Nope is a natural predator and thereby responds with emotion to a degree, particularly if it's challenged. Early in the film, OJ warns people on a Hollywood set not to look his horse in the eye, as it intimidates it and causes it to lash out. The "Craft" operates similarly, a strong-willed being that responds in anger when it perceives it's being threatened. In this regard, it comes down to eye contact or being spectated, causing the "Craft" to attack, which is why it sucked up Jupe and his audience. It spared OJ on multiple occasions, as he applied the same technique he did with his horses, which is to keep his eyes down and away, showing that he's no threat. It also serves as a metaphor for Nope, proving that those who can't keep their eyes off the spectacle end up losing sight of the danger they're in - caring more for being entertained than being alive.
What Is The Significance of Gordy The Chimp And Jupe?
It's revealed throughout Nope (which isn't connected to Get Out or Us) that Jupe was a child actor who starred in a number of sitcoms - including Gordy's House, a show about a family living with a pet chimp named Gordy. Jupe bears witness to an incident in which Gordy goes berserk after a balloon pops on set, killing and maiming the cast in the scene. Gordy is covered in blood and returns to terrorize the downed co-stars multiple times, while Jupe hides under a table. Gordy eventually sees Jupe and approaches him, but instead of attacking, he reaches out his paw for a fist bump, which was something he was trained to do on the show. Gordy is then shot and killed by responding authorities. Jupe would grow up with a sense of arrogance about his survival, running a western-style theme park in the desert, while secretly harboring a shrine to his experience on the show. When Jupe discovers the "Craft", he thinks he can control it and make it a new spectacle for his show (since he survived Gordy's bloody attack), buying horses from OJ and "sacrificing" them to the "Craft" in order to get it to appear, essentially training it. OJ's father says in a flashback, "Some animals just don't want to be tamed," which becomes a central theme in Nope, be it relating to Gordy, horses, the "Craft", or humanity itself.
What Was The Plan In The Nope Ending And Did OJ Survive It?
The original plan of the protagonists in the Nope ending once the "Craft's" desire (to feed) is discovered is simply to get a high-res video of it to sell to networks and make some money. Even when Daniel Kaluuya's OJ and Palmer's Emerald discover that the "Craft" is a real creature, they still have their sights set on capturing footage, employing a real cinematographer (Wincott) to assist. The goal is to lure it in to get the footage, which would in turn make them wealthy and alert the world to what it is, thereby instigating what would eventually become a massive response to its presence and possibly scaring it away. It's a plan built on greed, rather than the goal of killing the "Craft", which eventually turns into a fight for survival that eventually destroys it.
When OJ appears to sacrifice himself to help Emerald escape, she lets loose a gas-filled balloon that the "Craft" attempts to eat, blowing up instead. All the while, Emerald is taking photos, still in the hope of capturing that moneymaking shot. After the "Craft" is defeated and the dust begins to clear, Emerald sees Kaluuya's OJ on top of his horse, Lucky, showing that he survived his attempt to lure it away. However, it's entirely possible that Emerald is hallucinating, just as OJ had hallucinated earlier, recalling moments with his father who was seen as if actually there. It's ultimately up to the viewer, whether they believe what they see to be true (OJ alive and atop his horse), or take it as a vision of some kind. Either way, it's the last scene in the Nope ending before the credits, so no further explanation is given, meaning it can easily remain ambiguous.
What Is The Real Meaning Of Nope's Ending?
Jupe refers to the "Craft" in Nope as "The Viewers" which serves as another metaphor in the film, as he is attracting "viewers" to his spectacle. The Viewer wants to feed and will keep coming back for more, so long as there's something to keep its attention. It speaks to an audience's thirst to be fed, as well as humanity's obsession with making use of something that can seemingly be tamed, never considering that maybe it shouldn't (or can't be). So long as it serves its purpose - be it a chimp on a TV show, a horse in a movie, or an alien life form putting on a show for an audience - Nope highlights the hubris in using living things to feed our entertainment, human, animal, or alien, and asks if it's worth the risk and sacrifice, especially in the Nope ending. In the film, the ultimate price is death, and it's a price many pay to be entertained by something they can't control instead of asking themselves if that's truly the right call.