If you haven’t seen Nope, you’ve had plenty of time to catch up — but if you want to have it explained and don’t care about spoilers, here you go.
Filmmaker Jordan Peele was a guest on Josh Horowitz’s Happy, Sad, Confused podcast to answer the most head-scratching and overly theorised conspiracies surrounding major plot points in Nope. Cutting right right to the chase, Horowitz asked about the meaning of the standing shoe that opens up the film — an eerie visual Gizmodo previously discussed as part of the Gordy’s Home sequence in an interview with Nope editor Nicholas Monsour.
“You know, the shoe represents a moment where we check out of the trauma. And Jupe (Steven Yeun), he zones in on this little shoe that’s Mary Jo’s that has landed in a precarious odd situation,” Peele explained. “And this is the moment he disassociates. So the shoe for me is, in essence … the impossible shot, the impossible moment.”
To everyone in film Twitter class who has asked themselves if this is the “bad miracle” mentioned in the film — well, Peele as confirmed, “It’s a bad miracle, very good, you got it. You got the shoe.” Gold star, students.
I asked @JordanPeele some of your burning NOPE questions and he actually kinda answered them!
The shoe, Nobody, the alien design, meaning of the title, and even a hint at the future! @nopemovie
Watch the full #happysadconfused episode here! https://t.co/8t1ShDlJpC pic.twitter.com/jpiqb1cTfm
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) January 18, 2023
Peele was also asked if the title Nope is indeed an acronym for “Not of Planet Earth.” He confirmed — “Yes; it was one of the intents” — and I hope he doesn’t have to answer this obvious question anymore. He also addressed whether the expanding, ethereal visual conceptualization of Jean Jacket was inspired by biblical angels or Evangelion. Peel answered it was both. “The Evangelion Angels are based on the biblical angels and I didn’t want to be literal that Jean Jacket or this ocular nimbus species is an angel,” he said. “But I do think that there is something … where evolution and design collide that leaves doors open that may or may not be answered in the future.”
So will we be seeing more of the Nope universe sooner rather than later? Keen-eyed fans have pointed out that there was an entire character scrubbed out of the final film, dubbed “Nobody.” Peele previously confirmed he was cut but still had a story to tell, which he intends to get to eventually. “There will be some discovery about this character,” he added before skirting around more questions about whether his next film will be a follow-up to Nope. “I do not have a script yet,” was what he would reveal about the TBA project. “I’m writing right now.”
Watch the whole interview here:
While you’re here, why not check out Gizmodo Australia’s guide to what’s streaming this month on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Stan, Binge and more. We’ve also got one for all the good movies coming out in 2023 if that’s more your thing.