Trailers: Jordan Peele’s ‘Nope’ Leaves Much to the Imagination—and why That’s a Good Thing

Since shocking the horror world to its core in 2017 with “Get Out,” no other director’s work comes with such feverish anticipation like Jordan Peele. Having honed his craft in Mad TV and the insanely wonderful and brilliant “Key & Peele,” Jordan Peele took quite the left turn with “Get Out” and its rich subtext and social commentary built upon layers of haunting metaphors. If his follow up “Us” didn’t exactly light the world on fire, it still added another gripping film to his growing resume as a filmmaker. Now, the trailer for his latest, “Nope” has dropped; and well, “YES!”

What’s it all About?

We now little about the plot of “Nope” other than the fact that synopses describe it as a “neo-Western science fiction film.” The trailer is elusive. While it started showing some horses and what looks like a filmset itself with some happy, bubbly personalities, it quickly evolves into a montage of quick glimpses. These offer little more than the feeling of impending doom with something large in the sky moving towards the inhabitants of the film. In other words, who knows!

The possibilities are endless here. And the unknowing and the mystery just makes things all the more exciting. I get a total “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” meets “The Twilight Zone” feel here —and man is it a good feeling. The catch though is that if Peele’s previous films are any indication, the context, the meaning, and the film itself will speak of totally larger and more complex issues than we are privy to in the trailer.

A huge issue with films today is that their trailers often play like a two minute, three act film in and of itself, revealing every beat of the story which ruins the surprise for a lot of films. Trailers—and more specifically teasers—should be just that; a commercial or a tease for the film. Not some crazy outpouring of the film that leaves the viewer void of any surprise. I’d imagine if Jordan Peele was asked, “Would you like the trailer to lay out the main pulse of your film,” he likely responded, “Nope!”

Release Date

“Nope” is currently scheduled for a July 22, 2022 release date.

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