Nope has had a mysterious ad campaign that teases many elements of the film without quite coming out and saying exactly what it's about. The most popular theory is that it's a combination of a Western and an alien invasion film, however, the only thing that has been revealed about the plot is that it centers on an abnormal event in the desert. This event is witnessed by James (Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya) and Jill Haywood (Keke Palmer), who run a horse ranch just outside Hollywood. The film's ensemble cast is filled out by Keith David, Donna Mills, Barbie Ferreira, Michael Wincott, and Oscar nominee Steven Yeun.
While speaking with EW about her role in the film, Palmer revealed that the film will go in a completely different direction than Get Out or Us. While the film will still be a commentary on society at large, it will use a completely different set of themes and tones. She even went so far as to say that Nope "has a lot of '70s tones." Read her full quote below:
Nope is nothing like Get Out or Us. It’s a totally different vibe, it's about something different — the themes are totally different, and the tone is totally different. This has a lot of '70s tones, which I think is exciting.
Taking on a more '70s approach will certainly be an interesting move for Peele. His projects so far have been more decidedly contemporary, though he obviously paid homage to the 1975 sci-fi horror classic The Stepford Wives (which was based on the 1972 Ira Levin novel of the same name) in the plot of Get Out. Us also had a sequence set in the '80s complete with an homage to the filming of the vampire classic The Lost Boys before returning to the current era.
If Peele is indeed making his film about an alien invasion, he certainly couldn't go wrong with picking the '70s as an inspiration. Given the fact that the decade produced both Ridley Scott's Alien and Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, that era certainly provided the road map for extraterrestrial filmmaking. Nope would certainly find itself in good company.
Source: EW
