Nope

Peele officially announced his then-untitled third directorial film in November 2020. He cited King Kong (1933), Jurassic Park (1993), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Jaws (1975), Signs (2002), and The Wizard of Oz (1939) as his main inspirations. Palmer and Kaluuya joined in February 2021. Yeun was cast the next month, and Peele revealed the title in July 2021. Filming began in June 2021 in northern Los Angeles County, and wrapped in November.

Nope premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on July 18, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 22, 2022, by Universal Pictures. It grossed $172 million worldwide, and received positive reviews for its ambition, performances, cinematography, themes, visual style, musical score, and Peele’s direction. It was also named one of the top ten films of 2022 by the American Film Institute. Since its release, the film has been cited as one of the best science fiction films of the 21st century and of all time.

Six months later, his children, Otis Jr. and Emerald (“OJ” and “Em,” respectively), are fired from a set after their horse, Lucky, reacts violently to its own reflection in a chrome ball utilized for visual effects. To raise money, OJ has been selling some of the Haywood horses to Ricky “Jupe” Park, who operates a Western theme park called Jupiter’s Claim. Jupe exploits his past traumatic experience as a child actor on the set of a family sitcom that featured a chimpanzee named Gordy. During filming of an episode, Gordy reacted violently to the sound of popping balloons and attacked most of his human co-stars, but ultimately left Jupe completely unharmed, before being fatally shot by police.

One night, the Haywoods notice their electricity fluctuating and their horses violently reacting to an unknown presence. They discover an unidentified flying object (UFO) that has been taking their horses. The siblings decide to document and sell evidence of the UFO’s existence, and recruit electronics store employee Angel Torres to set up surveillance cameras. The UFO arrives and abducts a horse that has broken out of the ranch stable, as well as a metal horse statue Em has stolen from Jupiter’s Claim to act as a decoy.

The next day, Em attempts to recruit famed cinematographer Antlers Holst to help them record the UFO. Holst declines, telling Em that chasing wealth and fame is a “dream you will never wake up from.” Angel then arrives and reveals that a cloud in the valley never moves; OJ suspects this is the UFO’s hiding place before theorizing, based on the UFO’s flight patterns, that it is not a ship at all.

Jupe introduces a live show in Jupiter’s Claim where he plans to use Lucky as bait to lure out the UFO. For months Jupe has been secretly offering the Haywoods’ horses to the UFO to gain its trust and domesticate it before revealing it in a show. The UFO arrives earlier than expected and consumes Jupe and everyone in attendance, ultimately leaving only Lucky alive. OJ, attempting to retrieve Lucky, confirms his theory that the UFO is actually a territorial, predatory organism. After the creature showers the Haywood household with the detritus and regurgitated remains of the Jupiter’s Claim crowd, OJ realizes that it only attacks those who look directly at it and devises a plan to record it. Em and Angel are hesitant until Em receives a call from Holst, who now agrees to help. OJ names the organism “Jean Jacket” after a horse that had been part of the Haywoods’ stable in the past.

To circumvent Jean Jacket’s effect of shutting down all electrical equipment in its vicinity, Holst brings a hand-cranked IMAX film camera. The group sets up a field of battery-powered tube man props to track its location in the sky. However, a TMZ paparazzo trespasses onto the field and is thrown from his electric motorcycle when it shuts down near Jean Jacket, which promptly devours him. Though Holst captures footage of Jean Jacket, his obsession with “the impossible shot” results in him being consumed alongside his camera, forcing the remaining three to flee. Angel survives an attack from Jean Jacket by becoming entangled in a tarp and barbed wire, causing the creature to unfurl into a new, larger form resembling a jellyfish.

OJ intentionally looks directly at Jean Jacket, drawing the monster’s attention and allowing Em to use the motorcycle to rush to Jupiter’s Claim. There, she untethers the park’s large helium balloon mascot of Jupe, whose winking eye attracts Jean Jacket’s attention. Jean Jacket attempts to feed on the balloon while Em uses an attraction’s analog camera to photograph it. Its attempt to eat the perceived threat results in the balloon exploding, destroying Jean Jacket. With the picture as proof of the creature’s existence and reporters arriving nearby, Em sees an unharmed OJ and Lucky standing outside of Jupiter’s Claim.