Jordan Peele continues to build anticipation with his newest project, arriving in the summer with a mix of suspense and spectacle. The first glimpse on social media featured a striking sequence from 1887, showing a black jockey photographed by Eadweard Muybridge. A brief trailer then followed, set on a farm where the protagonists stare into the sky in fear. The title, sounding bold and unsettling, is No! What is nop?
The mystery deepens as the main characters reveal their roles and keys to the story. The film reunites Daniel Kaluuya, who previously collaborated with Peele on the director’s breakout hit, with Keke Palmer, known for her work on the sketch comedy program Key & Peele. In the movie, they portray two brothers who return to a family farm after their father’s death. They raise horses to act in films, tracing their lineage to the black jockey in the founding image of cinema. OJ (Kaluuya) is reserved and diligent, while Emerald (Palmer) is exuberant, outspoken, and a bit reckless.
Jordan Peele: A piercing social mirror wrapped in terror
big time fun
Kaluuya recalls, “Peele wrote the script during a pandemic when fear and uncertainty infiltrated every day. We didn’t know when we could leave home or what that would mean for cinema. He aimed to recapture a sense of wonder from childhood while delivering a truly cinematic experience.”
The film fuses a spectrum of genres, moving from western motifs to science fiction, horror, and humor. Contemporary ranch life, tourist farms, a predatory UFO, and unexpected chimpanzee threats populate the world. Yet the movie also operates as a layered metaphor, a hallmark of Peele’s storytelling. If Let Me In explored racial tensions at the heart of American society, and Us examined class and the gaze of the other, No! becomes a meditation on mass culture. Hollywood’s myth-making, and the place of African-Americans within it, are foregrounded. From the opening Muybridge imagery onward, invisibility and exploitation are put under the spotlight.
all will be seen
Kaluuya adds, “Ultimately, the film centers on image as currency. We live in a world saturated with social media, where every shot can matter. The film suggests that nothing is truly unseen; every frame reflects something about us. The characters will become fixated on the unknown, feigning fear while chasing answers about the mysterious Jean Jacket that will be the name of the flying craft.”
Palmer notes the relentless drive for visibility in the entertainment industry and how Peele uses that pressure to probe deeper questions. The director’s goal, she explains, is to reveal how people are consumed and, at times, swallowed by the systems built to sensationalize them. The cast and crew aim to expose the violence at the core of fame and the media’s appetite for spectacle.
Peele’s influences are named openly. Classic thrillers such as Signs and Encounters of the Third Kind are acknowledged, along with Steven Spielberg’s open-sky wonder. The film also nods to the sweeping landscapes of Westerns by Sergio Leone and Michael Cimino, reminding viewers of the primal thrill of vast spaces. The awareness of the sea and sky invites associations with Jaws and Spielberg’s other planetary awe, while a nod to Black cinema’s overlooked Westerns, like Buck and the Preacher, positions No! within a broader historical conversation.
Palmer admits she was surprised by the script, describing Peele as a fearless innovator who loves to challenge audiences. “This project felt audacious, in a good way,” she says. “Peele compels you to watch closely, surprises you, and asks big questions while keeping the pace electric. The movie invites you to stay engaged from the first scene to the last.”
Peele’s latest venture quickly became a cultural moment, debuting at the top of the U.S. box office in its opening weekend and driving strong numbers through the first week. “There’s something in the film that resonates with audiences,” a spokesperson comments. “It blends fear with humor and strange tenderness, particularly in the relationship between the two brothers, which stands out as a centerpiece.” [Source: Peele interview, 2024]