Jordan Peele Wanted No Part of New 'Scary Movie'

I was absolutely excited about the idea of a new film in the Scary Movie franchise, especially if it brought the Wayans family back into the fold. It’s not that I thought comedy needed saving or something. There have been plenty of good comedies (and even horror comedies) in the decades (Jesus) since the first film. Still, the idea of people I admire doing what they once did best was an intriguing prospect, and the first trailer was fine if not a bit on the nose. Then, while taking in the NBA Finals the other night, I saw an ad where a character said they couldn’t let a white lady die because they are a DEI hire, and I groaned.

The next day, reviews and reactions for the film hit the net, and to say they have not been kind would be an understatement. Even the friendliest reviews claimed that the film feels tired and out of step, something you absolutely don’t want with a parody movie. That said, I should have seen this all coming, as, like a bad comedian at an open mic, the movie’s ad campaign pointed out that they were going to cross “every” line. If you have to tell me how edgy you are, you’re likely soft as can be.

Apparently, Jordan Peele saw the writing on the wall early on (or at least didn’t want to come out of acting retirement). Marlon Wayans recently spoke to THR about parodying someone like Jordan Peele and his film Get Out, despite having been an actor in the Peele-produced film HIM last year. “You don’t ask for permission, you just kind of do it and hope they enjoy it — and if not they’ll never cast you in one of their movies, and that’s OK,” Wayans explained.

But Wayans didn’t just want to parody Peele; he wanted him involved. However, that didn’t shake out. Wayans recounted telling Peele they would be mocking his film, saying, “he was like ‘Oh, cool.’ I was like, ‘You want to be in it?’ He said, ‘Nah.’ I was like, ‘Alright, not that cool.’” The longtime actor told the story with a laugh, showing that there are clearly no hard feelings. And to be fair, I can completely understand why Peele would not want to be directly involved.

The whole thing is just a bummer. I wasn’t expecting Shakespeare, but I had pretty high hopes for this franchise’s return. And to be clear, I will likely still see the film. I’m no stranger to intentionally seeing some groaners in a movie theater. Sometimes, those are the best outings. But I’ll admit that I’m a little apprehensive now, especially since I’d likely be going alone. A friend of mine and I had been toying with the idea of going, and when I texted him to let him know that there is actually a character in the film named Dei, and that that sounded so bad that we would have to go, he just… did not text me back. Fair enough.