Nope (film)
Nope is an upcoming American science fiction horror film written, directed, and produced by Jordan Peele under his Monkeypaw Productions banner. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun. The plot follows residents of an isolated town who witness a mysterious and abnormal event. The film is scheduled to be released on July 22, 2022, by Universal Pictures. Premise. Residents of an isolated town in California, among them ranch owners James and Jill Haywood, witness a mysterious and abnormal event. Production. Development. On October 1, 2019, Universal Pictures announced a five-year exclusive production partnership with Jordan  Peele's Monkeypaw Productions, with the goal of focusing on creating "original, auteur-driven genre movies". On November 9, 2020, an untitled film written, directed, and produced by Peele was given a release date at Universal for July 22, 2022. In February 2021, it was reported that Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya had joined the cast while Jesse Plemons turned down a role in the film in order to star in "Killers of the Flower Moon" instead. Peele wrote the script with Kaluuya in mind for the role of James Haywood. In March 2021, Steven Yeun was added to the  cast. On July 22, 2021, Peele revealed the film's title and shared its first promotional release poster, and the castings of Michael Wincott, Brandon Perea, and Barbie Ferreira were confirmed. Filming. Principal photography was scheduled to begin in Los Angeles and Southern California on June 7, 2021. The production received an estimated $8,364,000 worth of tax credits to shoot the film in the state of California. The project was also the first to employ trainees from Universal Filmed Entertainment Group's California Below-the-Line Traineeship for individuals seeking careers behind the camera. "Nope" was shot by cinematographer  Hoyte van Hoytema using Kodak film, including 65mm film in IMAX format. Marketing. Following the release of a teaser poster in July 2021 and first-look images on February 8, 2022, a trailer premiered online and during Super Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022, featuring a 1962 recording from the Regal Theater in Chicago of the song "Fingertips" by Stevie Wonder. Several critics praised the promotional footage for simultaneously creating suspense and keeping the storyline under wraps. Jordan Hoffman from "Vanity Fair" gave positive notes to the song choice and the scrolling text included over a static frame, which  he compared to a similar shot in the trailer for Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". "The Verge"s Charles Pulliam-Moore called it "one of the rare modern movies with this much hype around it to make it this close to its release date without the public knowing basically anything about it." According to social media analytic RelishMix, the film saw an increase of 21.65 million interactions on social media after the Super Bowl commercial aired on national television. A second teaser poster was released on March 1, 2022, featuring a horse suspended in the air. Critics speculated that the film  would be about extraterrestrial life. "Bloody Disgusting"s John Squires said it was "entirely possible that "Nope" isn't at all the movie it thus far appears to be, with the marketing throwing us off the scent." Lex Briscuso from "/Film" said that "despite the fact that the new visual doesn't give us very many fresh clues, I'm just happy to see new content continue to pop up out of the blue". On April 16, a commercial for the NBA Playoffs promoted the film with NBA player Stephen Curry. Larry Fitzmaurice of "BuzzFeed" called it "terrifyingly funny". Nope (film