For the past couple of weeks there been a steady stream of stuff coming out concerning Jordan Peele’s next film, Us. Of course, by steady stream we mean more of a consistent trickle, as secrecy runs deep on this project. Until today, that is, as Entertainment Weekly has a piece exposing more finite details, as well as a few new pictures. All of it has our heads in a tizzy. Get ready to strap on your thinking caps.
First up is this very serious picture of a beleaguered looking Lupita Nyong’o. She’s armed with a weapon, but also hand-cuffs or shackles on her, as well as blood of some kind. Whatever situation she’s escaping from, was probably rather dire and we can’t wait to find out exactly what’s going on. EW was able to suss out a few extra tidbits concerning the plot of Us, adding to what we found out 11 days ago.
“The story is set in the present day and follows Adelaide and Gabe Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke) as they take their kids to Adelaide’s old childhood beachside home in Northern California for the summer. After a day at the beach with the Tyler family (which includes Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker), Adelaide — who’s haunted by a lingering trauma from her past — becomes increasingly more paranoid that something bad will happen to her family. As night falls, the Wilsons see four figures holding hands and standing silently at the bottom of their driveway…”
It’s impressive what a difference one or two extra lines makes. Not only do we now know Moss may be playing Heidecker’s wife, but the story may be bit crazier than initially imagined. That’s something Peele really likes digging into, whether it’s sketch based comedy, Get Out or even his upcoming Twilight Zone project, he turning screws on the audience. Peele more or less confirmed that notion, in a short interview with EW.
“For my second feature, I wanted to create a monster mythology…I wanted to do something that was more firmly in the horror genre but still held on to my love of movies that are twisted but fun.”
As for those figures standing in the driveway? That leads into to the second new photo we got.
That’s sufficiently creepy. Zooming in on the child-like figure on the left hand side, they appear to be wearing a mask or wrap of some kind. It’s both striking and a little unnerving. Those red outfits don’t help things much either. Peele did mention the name of the monsters featured in Us; they’re called The Tethered. In lieu of a smarmy joke, we’ll note that succinctly describes the above photo. It also goes to show that nothing’s more formidable or frightening than a family unit working in harmony. That is, if the film goes the route of saying that “humans are the worst monsters” out there.
Now, the last piece of info included in the article also comes with a mild spoiler warning. Though we haven’t seen any footage yet (but will on Christmas day), everything remains a mystery. So, for those who still want to stay in the dark, as much as possible, look away. We don’t know for certain, but what follows, may end up being spoiler related. You’ve been notified.
Nyong’o revealed that Jordan Peele supplied her with a list of horror films he wanted her to watch, before production officially began. The intent was that the two could work from a “shared language” while filming. What were the titles, you ask?
Dead Again
The Shining
The Babadook
It Follows
A Tale of Two Sisters
The Birds
Funny Games
Martyrs
Let the Right One In
The Sixth Sense
If you’ve seen more than a couple of those titles, look at the pictures above and put the quotes together, a strange cloud should form in your head. Now, somehow this giant piece of info could be something to throw internet sluethers off the sent of what’s really going on in the film. Yet, that would be an awful lot of work to go through. Even more so with a trailer on the way. All it really does is make people more excited for the film, whose hype level is already through the roof.
What do you think of this new news? Are you sufficiently excited for what Jordan Peele has up his sleeve? Do the photos strike you as creepy at all? How do you believe those film titles tie into the story? Let us know what theories you’ve got cooking up, in the section below. Us stalks into theaters on March 15, 2019. Expect the internet to be a buzz next week, when we officially get a look at the first trailers. It’s likely to be a doozy.
