Saying YES to the 'NOPE' Trailer!

Jordan Peele is what one would call a Renaissance Man. Not only is he a comedy legend (we will never forget the hilarity of "Key & Peele"), but he is also an actor as well as a creator of some of the creepiest horror movies of our generation. So far, he’s released two original horror movies entitled Get Out and Us, both of which received critical acclaim for their plot twists as well as their relevance to timely social issues. His previous films both had themes that called back to classic horror film tropes — from a strange house out in the woods to a secret community underground.

In his newest film, NOPE, Peele takes an entirely new approach, focusing on the story of two siblings who own a horse ranch dealing with strange paranormal activity. Many believe that the title NOPE actually stands for “Not Of Planet Earth” and that the film is about aliens coming to Earth. However, the movie  — starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun — has been mostly kept under wraps in terms of details and overall plot. However, with the release of the trailer, many fans are zooming into the details in an attempt to figure out what NOPE may be about and the possible plot twists that may occur. 

The trailer for NOPE begins with footage of Eadweard Muybridge’s The Horse in Motion, a series of photos from 1878 of a horse in motion that was a massive development for the creation of motion pictures. In NOPE’s universe, the man riding the horse in the short film happens to be the great-great-great-grandfather of Keke Palmer’s character. Similar to Us's use of a historical plot point (the Hands Across America event), this event may lend itself to be essential for the development of Keke’s character and the Hollywood ranch she runs alongside her brother, Daniel Kaluuya. 

Another intriguing scene within the trailer shows a stand selling alien memorabilia, hinting at the film’s premise of an alien invasion-esque horror plot. It also acts as possible foreshadowing for the trailer’s use of the phrase “bad miracle” when the two siblings attempt to outrun a strange force attacking their home. With one of the T-shirts reading “The Star Lasso Experience” and a sign next to it that says “Book Your Next Experience Here”, many viewers are convinced that the duo has attempted to use the event to promote the ranch. Whether this leads to terrible consequences befalling the team remains to be seen, but we can definitely see how this may end up as a “boy who cried wolf” scenario for the pair! 

Finally, the alien plotline is confirmed with an homage to one of the most iconic scenes in Steven Spielberg’s E.T., where a fist reaches out to fist-bump a strange creature. However, Peele is always the type to subvert expectations, so the likelihood that this creature is here to “phone home” is probably next to zero — the bloodied claw of the beast would seem to confirm that! Unfortunately, our guesswork will have to remain speculative until the film is released in theaters on June 22. Until then, keep rewatching the trailer to find new clues!