In a recent interview, Keke Palmer, star of the upcoming horror flick Nope, said the film is “nothing like Get Out or Us,” making Peele’s upcoming film all the more exciting. While not much is known about the plot of Nope, Palmer’s reference to the film being vastly different from Peele’s other two horror projects may be the best thing for the writer/director going forward. This seems particularly interesting as some of Peele’s work has previously suffered under the umbrella of comparison in the past.
Nope, a title recently explained by Peele, follows Palmer and her co-star Daniel Kaluuya as Jill and James Haywood, respectively, owners of the only Black-owned horse training ranch in Hollywood. However, Palmer’s enthusiasm and charm soon gives way to unnerving images of strange flying animals and a large cloud-like object floating in the sky. While in some ways, the film seems in step with Peele’s previous work, the lack of a definitive plot given in the film’s trailer might hint that the film is more of a departure for Peele.
However, given the fact that Us often suffered by virtue of being unfavorably compared to Get Out, the idea that Nope (both in terms of plot and style) might be vastly different from both films, feels like a promising, fresh move for Peele’s body of work. While it seems likely that the film will deal with current issues via social commentary, Palmer also referenced that Nope, while borrowing from Get Out, explores very different themes from Peele’s past projects. Between this difference, and some allusions to stylistic differences, Nope has the exciting potential to break from the mold left behind by both Get Out and Us.
As a writer/director, Peele consistently explores contemporary themes relevant to social issues, most distinctly in Get Out, but also in Us. While it remains to be seen exactly what social theme Nope will explore, the fact that Palmer references Peele’s ideas in Nope being completely different from his previous films seems poised to establish Nope as a reinvention of Peele’s brand. Of course, there have often been fan theories about Peele’s films having a shared universe or an underlying message across films, but even if Nope follows that trend, its distinctiveness could separate it from the same kinds of comparisons Us suffered from.
Additionally, Palmer’s references to the tone of Nope hint at the film being vastly different from something like Get Out. Palmer, in her interview, said that Nope has “a lot of ‘70s tones.” If this is the case, combine those tones with some of the almost comedic moments peppered throughout the trailer, and Nope may also be a vast tonal departure for Peele as well as a thematic one.
Comparison is always a tricky means of dissecting a body of work. This is especially true for Peele’s films, which cover a wide variety of topics, but also share a singular vision and progressive advancement of horror as a genre. However, given Palmer’s praise for Nope, the film could be one of the best horror films releasing in summer 2022, and could even manage to perfectly walk the line between wholehearted originality and a sense of defined auteurship.