Keke Palmer Will Star In Upcoming Jordan Peele Film, ‘Nope’
Jordan Peele has been on a roll the past few years. He has generated creative film concepts that have made us think critically about race and personhood and now he’s giving us his signature magic with a different star—Keke Palmer.
The movie will be released through Universal Pictures, who struck a 5-year, first-look deal with Peele in 2019. Like his previous, box office-smashing projects, the film’s title and plot were initally kept under wraps. He will write, direct and produce the movie (with Ian Cooper) for their Monkey Paw Productions venture.
It has a set release date already—July 22, 2022. It will only be featured in theaters.
“Jordan has established himself as a premier voice and original storyteller with global appeal,” said Universal Filmed Entertainment Group Chairman Donna Langley, who announced the news of the deal. “He is leading a new generation of filmmakers that have found a way to tap into the cultural zeitgeist with groundbreaking content that resonates with audiences of all backgrounds,” she continued to The Hollywood Reporter in 2019.
Daniel Kaluuya previously starred in Peele’s 2017 film Get Out. Most recently, Kaluuya portrayed slain Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah. Fans will also recognize him as one of the title characters from Lena Waithe and Melina Matsoukas’ Queen & Slim and from his role in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther.
Steven Yeun, an actor with film credits in Mayhem, Sorry to Bother You and Burning, will appear in the movie as well. He has worked with Peele before on his 2018 ‘Twilight Zone’ reboot.
Palmer made Black history in 2020 as the first Black woman to host MTV’s Video Music Awards. Earlier that month, it was revealed that she is also set to voice a character in the Proud Family reboot. She will play Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins, a teen activist.
Read more about the Proud Family rework here.
Peele won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2018 for Get Out.
Photo credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for IFP