Did You Catch Jordan Peele’s Blink-and-You’ll-Miss-It Us Easter Egg in Nope?
It's always fun when a director hearkens back to their previous work!
It's always fun when a filmmaker hearkens back to their previous movies via little Easter eggs hidden for eagle-eyed viewers to spot.
Writer/director/producer Jordan Peele is no exception to that longstanding entertainment industry tradition, as evidenced by a small nod to his sophomore feature, Us (2019), in his third blockbuster outing, Nope (2022), which is airing on SYFY this week and also streaming on Peacock.
A unique spin on the cowboy and alien invasion genres, Nope centers around OJ and Emerald Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer), a pair of Hollywood horse trainers battling a cloud-like creature that has established its territory in and around their desert ranch. The situation is exacerbated by a former kid star and tourist attraction owner Ricky "Jupe" Park (Steven Yeun), who believes he can control the entity by feeding it horses on a regular basis.
The film's title is a cheeky reference to how modern-day horror characters often utter the word "Nope" and turn around when faced with some kind of outrageous threat.
Jordan Peele's Nope (2022) contains a sneaky Us Easter egg
Pay attention during the scene where the Haywood siblings visit Jupe's office around the 17-minute mark of Nope, and you'll spot the pair of scissors wielded by the hoarse-voiced Red (Lupita Nyong'o) in Us sitting atop the desk. In this behind-the-scenes look at Us, Peele explains that he wanted the scissors to represent the movie's story and themes regarding doppelgängers and the duality of humankind.
"The scissors are an iconic piece of horror imagery that has been used in other films, but I felt like I wanted to honor that weapon in the best way I could with this film [by making it] the central image," he explains. "There's a duality to scissors, both literally and physically. They're a whole made up of two parts, but they also lie in this territory between the mundane and the absolutely terrifying."
When is Jordan Peele's next movie coming out?
Not much is known about Peele's fourth directorial effort, other than the fact that Universal Pictures has it slated for an October 23, 2026 release date. However, before that, fans will be able to see the upcoming sports-based horror/thriller Him, executive produced by Peele, which hits theaters this fall and seems to carry a number of the filmmaker's patented storytelling trademarks.
Nope is now streaming on Peacock (and airing this week on SYFY) along with the Peele-produced reboot of Scare Tactics. His first three movies -- Get Out, Us, and Nope -- are all available to rent and/or purchase from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Him premieres in theaters on September 19, 2025. Visit the official Him movie site right here.
