“A little bit of horror, a little bit of comedy; I’m always going to try and give you a big show.”
That’s how Oscar winning writer-director Jordan Peele described his storytelling sensibility to Deadline at the premiere of his latest, Nope.
As to whether he might venture into other genres or play with different tones he continued, “I will stay within this realm that I love which is, I think, the only way I know how to view the world and how to tell
stories at this point.
Jordan Peele on future films: “When I want you to know, you will know” #NopeMovie pic.twitter.com/HM3uz4fYC1
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 19, 2022
Among Peele’s upcoming projects is the Netflix stop-motion film Wendell & Wild, which he co-wrote and stars in for Oscar-nominated director Henry Selick (Coraline).
First announced back in November of 2020, Nope follows the residents of a lonely gulch in inland California, as they bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery. Peele’s latest enigmatic and buzzy title reteams him with his Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya. Its cast also includes Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Wrenn Schmidt, Keith David, Michael Busch, Donna Mills, Barbie Ferreira, Devon Graye, Terry Notary and more. Peele and Ian Cooper produced the film for Monkeypaw Productions, with Robert Graf serving as its executive producer.
Wendell & Wild was written by Selick and Peele and reteams the latter with his Key and Peele co-star Keegan-Michael Key. It’s an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Key) and Wild (Peele), who enlist the aid of 13-year-old Kat Elliot—a tough teen with a load of guilt—to summon them to the Land of the Living. What Kat demands in return leads to a brilliantly bizarre and comedic adventure like no other, an animated fantasy that defies the law of life and death, all told through the handmade artistry of stop-motion.
The animated feature’s cast also includes Lyric Ross, Angela Bassett, James Hong, Tamara Smart, Natalie Martinez, Tantoo Cardinal, Gabrielle Dennis, Igal Naor, David Harewood, Maxine Peake, Ramona Young, Sam Zelaya, Seema Virdi, Gary Gatewood and Ving Rhames. Selick is producing with Ellen Goldsmith-Vein for The Gotham Group, and Peele and Win Rosenfeld for Monkeypaw, with The Gotham Group’s Lindsay Williams and Eddie Gamarra exec producing alongside Monkeypaw’s Kamil Oshundara and Ian Cooper.
Universal Pictures will release Nope worldwide this Friday, July 22. Wendell & Wild hits Netflix in October.