Jordan Peele’s newest horror movie is simply titled Nope, and of course, this curious title has made way for a lot of theories about its true meaning. One of the biggest names in the horror genre in recent years is Jordan Peele, who has surprised critics and viewers with stories that not only inspire fear but do so rooted in real social issues, which ultimately makes them scarier. Peele has successfully transitioned from comedy actor to horror writer and director, and even though he has only made three horror movies so far, they have been so successful that there’s a lot of anticipation around his projects.
Peele’s career in the horror genre began with Get Out in 2017, which follows a young black man who uncovers a disturbing secret when he meets the family of his white girlfriend. Get Out gave Peele his first Academy Award (for Best Original Screenplay) and was a critical success, making way for his second movie, Us, in 2019. Us follows a family who comes across their menacing doppelgängers, who plan on taking their place and more. After hosting the third revival of The Twilight Zone, Peele is back with his third horror movie, Nope, which is already surrounded by mysteries and theories.
Although a trailer has already been released, many details about Nope are still unknown. What’s known is that Nope will take viewers to Haywood Ranch, in California, to meet its owners Jill (Keke Palmer) and James Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya). Along with the residents of this isolated town, Jill and James will witness a mysterious and abnormal supernatural event that Peele has described as an “otherwordly confrontation”. The biggest theories, however, are about the real meaning of the movie’s title, and Peele has now offered an explanation on it that is a lot better than most theories, as it’s all about the viewers’ experience.
Jordan Peele appeared at Cinema Con to promote Nope (set for a July 22, 2022 release) and explained the meaning behind the movie’s peculiar title. Just like Get Out, Nope’s title was chosen to reflect the audience’s reaction to “what they're thinking and feeling in the theater”, as when you tell people it’s a scary movie, they usually go “nope”, so he wanted to acknowledge that part of the audience and bring them in. Peele also described Nope as “a ride” and explained that the fact that it was shot in both 65 mm and IMAX allowed him to “capture incredible images”. All this adds to Nope promising to be a story with horror elements that haven’t been seen before (or, at least, aren’t seen often), and it has to be that way in order to bring out that “nope!” reaction from the audience. Nope is also playing upon both expectations and reactions to capture the fun that is watching a horror movie in a movie theater, and it repeats an effective trick that Peele used with Get Out, which was also a reference to the audience’s reaction to the movie.
While there have been some very interesting theories about Nope and its title, the most notable one suggesting it’s an acronym for “Not Of Planet Earth”, Peele choosing Nope’s title based on the reaction he wants to get from the audience is a much more clever and effective trick than it having a secret meaning – though that doesn’t mean the “Not Of Planet Earth” theory can be ruled out yet. As the release date for Nope approaches, it’s unlikely more plot details will be revealed, as there are surely many surprises and twists waiting, but at least there’s now an explanation on why it has such a curious title.
