Is Nope 2 Actually On The Way?
Could it happen?
Could Jordan Peele’s next big film be a sequel? That’s the speculation now as the director himself has dropped some enticing clues with The New York Times as to what he will do next. It’s been just over a month since his latest big-screen spectacle Nope hit theaters, and it’s raked in over $100 million in box office receipts and just as many opinions and fan theories from moviegoers. While fans are split on the “we-didn’t-see-that-coming” storyline in the film, Peele suggests that Nope 2 may be coming soon, with more characters and more stories to tell.
Nope tells the story of siblings O.J. (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Hayworth (Keke Palmer) who try to capture footage of a UFO in the skies over their California ranch. Things aren’t always what they seem, of course, and Nope takes some truly entertaining turns as the mystery is unveiled. The film also stars Steven Yeun as an amusement park owner and Brandon Perea as a Fry’s Electronics employee who get mixed in on the Hayworth’s quest to film the UFO. Speculation about a Nope 2 doesn’t come by way of those characters, however, but by a character that wasn’t even in the film.
As Variety points out, eagle-eyed internet sleuths noticed that a character shown in the trailer played by actor Michael Busch (Glee, The Goldbergs) is not in the final cut of the film. He can be seen – ever so briefly – at the 2:20 minute mark of the final trailer, calmly walking through a crowd of panicked, running people. In the film’s IMDB credits, he’s actually listed as “Nobody (uncredited),” which is leading people to speculate that he may not have been just an extra whose brief shot was left on the cutting room floor. Peele confirmed that to be the case to The Times. “The story of that character has yet to be told, I can tell you that,” he says of Busch’s Nobody. “I do think they will get more answers on some of these things in the future. We’re not over telling all of these stories.” That seems to be a pretty definitive statement that Nope 2 is more than just a possibility.
Jordan Peele has yet to reveal what his future film projects will be. He just finished work on a Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) stop-motion animation film for Netflix called Wendell & Wild, in which he voices a character alongside his Key & Peele partner, Keegan Michael-Key. He has no major projects announced after that, so Nope 2 could be in his plans. Peele recently speculated about the possibility of a Get Out sequel, but nothing has been confirmed
Nope was a hit with critics, scoring an 83% from Rotten Tomatoes, an approval rate higher than the audience gave the film (68% positive). While the critics credited the Spielbergian feel for its success, moviegoers couldn’t decide if the film’s twists paid off they way they should, and many are still speculating about the ending. Without spoiling the film for those who haven’t seen it (it’s now available to rent at home through video-on-demand services), there is plenty of room for side stories to be told in the Nope universe, even while the fate of some characters are pretty well set. If in fact Peele is serious about making Nope 2, he certainly has plenty of possibilities to take the story in different directions.
