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We Know What Jordan Peele's Next Film Is Called, And When We Can All Shut Up And Give Him Our Money

By Brian Richards | Film | May 9, 2018 |

By Brian Richards | Film | May 9, 2018 |


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On February 24, 2017, Universal Pictures and horror-movie production company Blumhouse Productions released the horror film Get Out in theaters. It was written and directed by Jordan Peele, a writer/actor/comedian best known for his work on the Comedy Central series Key & Peele and also for his incredibly good impersonation of President Barack Obama on that very same show. And before Get Out dropped in theaters, when many people saw the trailer for themselves, there seemed to be a good amount of doubt and apprehension about the quality of the film and whether or not it would be any good, as there seemed to be many variations of “That Key & Peele dude is making a horror movie about interracial dating? Uh…okay, I guess. Probably going to be a horror comedy like Scream or something.” (I’m not exactly sure how any upcoming horror film evoking comparisons to Scream is a bad thing, as Scream is one of the best horror movies ever made, but that’s another topic for another day)

After Get Out dropped in theaters, any apprehension that people had for the film was silenced and laid to rest. Not only did Get Out earn raves from critics (except from Armond White, of course, because someone just has to be the black fly in the Chardonnay); not only did Get Out break many a box-office record; it was a film that people couldn’t stop talking and writing about. It was a film that people went to see more than once. It was a film that demanded that you see it on opening weekend with the biggest and Blackest movie-theater audience you could possibly find. It was a film that introduced the concept of “The Sunken Place” to everyone and made it a part of their regular vocabulary, especially for Black people discussing other Black people who would suddenly begin speaking and acting in ways that were deeply offensive, made little to no sense whatsoever, and made them shake their heads in disgust and disbelief. It also inspired Tananarive Due, author/professor for UCLA’s Department of African American Studies, to teach a course about Get Out, which Peele himself attended and lectured for.

It also inspired some people on Twitter to wonder out loud how true and accurate Get Out really is, especially since it was written and directed by a Black man married to a White woman. Both Peele and Chelsea Peretti, the incredibly talented actress/comedian who stars on Brooklyn Nine-Nine a.k.a. The Sitcom That Everyone Should Be Watching Because It’s So Damn Good and who is also married to Peele, were happy to clear up this assumption for everyone:

And all of this is before we point out that Get Out was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Daniel Kaluuya), Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. Its sole win was for Best Original Screenplay, but that didn’t stop most Get Out fans and supporters of Peele from clapping like seals on weapons-grade crack when Peele won, including his frequent collaborator and close friend, Keegan Michael-Key.

Now, thanks to coverage from The Hollywood Reporter last night, we know what the next film from Jordan Peele will be called, and when it will be released. The film will be called Us, and its release date is scheduled for March 15, 2019. Plot details are understandably scarce, and if contract negotiations are successful, Us is set to star Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke (who starred opposite Nyong’o in Black Panther and was so impressive and memorable as M’Baku that he made many an audience member go, “Michael B. who?!” and “I don’t know him” at the mention of Chadwick Boseman), and Elisabeth Moss.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Peele is once again directing from his own script. He is also producing via his Monkeypaw Productions alongside Sean McKittrick and Jason Blum. Also producing is Monkeypaw’s Ian Cooper.

Details are being kept deep in suburbia, but the pic is said to center on two couples, one white, one black. If a deal is made, Duke and Nyong’o would play one couple, while Moss would play part of the other couple.

Nyong’o is said to be in negotiations, while Duke and Moss’ potential deals are in earlier stages.

Jordan Peele also used his Twitter page to not only reveal the title of his next film, but also its teaser poster.

Once news broke regarding Peele’s next project, it didn’t take long for social media to express their excitement.

It’s far too soon to tell whether or not Us will meet or surpass our expectations, but it’s safe to say that 1) there will probably be many a Hot Take and thinkpiece about Us to be found before the opening weekend is even over, and 2) the doubt and apprehension that people may have felt about what Jordan Peele can do in the director’s chair before Get Out is not being felt now (or at least not nearly as much). March 15, 2019 can’t get here soon enough, if only so we can all say:

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