Someone Called Nope’s Jordan Peele The Best Horror Director, And He Wasn’t Having It

Jordan Peele in The Twilight Zone.
(Image credit: Paramount Plus)

It’s a good time to be a horror fan, with properties new and old killing it at the box office as the genre experiences a thrilling renaissance. One filmmaker who has been making waves for years is Jordan Peele, who ultimately won an Oscar for the screenplay of his directorial debut Get Out. He followed this up with 2019’s Us, and is once again returning to theaters this weekend with the new scary movie Nope. But when someone on Twitter called Peele the best horror movie director, he wasn’t having it.

All three of Jordan Peele’s directorial efforts have been horror movies, with his vision offering moving cultural commentary and a new perspective on scares. The early reviews for Nope have been fairly positive, so it looks like Peele was able to hit horror gold a third time. But that doesn’t mean that the comedian turned filmmaker is getting a big head, as evidenced by his reaction to a Tweet claiming he was the best horror director. Check it out for yourself below,

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Well, there you have it. It looks like Jordan Peele isn’t going to be taking up the mantle of the best horror director anytime soon. Instead, the acclaimed filmmaker has reserved that spot for original Halloween director John Carpenter. Indeed, his 1978 slasher starring Jamie Lee Curtis changed the genre forever. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg regarding Carpenter’s contributions to horror as a whole.

While Jordan Peele’s work shows how much innovation and originality can still be found within the horror genre, he has to tip his hat to one of the greats: John Carpenter. In addition to his work directing Halloween and crafting its iconic score, he’s also got plenty of other contributions to the genre. Other iconic scary movies include The Fog, The Thing, Christine, and Prince of Darkness. It looks like his work truly has an impact on Peele.

John Carpenter remains active in horror to this day, as he’s an executive producer on the current Halloween movies, and has been handling the new trilogy’s music. One can only hope that Jordan Peele follows suit and works in horror at the age of 74.

Luckily for fans of Jordan Peele’s work, the wait for his new movie Nope is nearly over. This blockbuster looks like his biggest project by far, and features a stellar cast including Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun. You can check out the movie’s trailer below,

While the contents of Nope are being kept under wraps, it certainly looks like a movie meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible. After all, who doesn’t want to see all the UFO action in its full glory? We’ll just have to wait and see if the characters make it out alive.

Nope hits theaters on July 22nd. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.