Jordan Peele’s post-‘Nope’ horror film removed from Universal’s 2026 schedule

Jordan Peele‘s highly anticipated next project has been removed from Universal Pictures’ 2026 release schedule.

• READ MORE: ‘Nope’ review: say yes to Jordan Peele’s genre-hopping comedy-horror

The currently untitled horror film – which will serve as the eagerly awaited follow-up to 2022’s Nope, and will mark the filmmaker’s return to directing after four years – was most recently slated for a release sometime around Halloween next year.

Now, however, it has been reported via Variety that Universal Pictures has removed it from its 2026 release schedule, and has yet to set a new date for the film. The film was first meant to premiere around Christmas last year, but was put on pause in 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes in Hollywood.

Daniel Kaluuya in ‘Nope’. CREDIT: Universal

The film was then pushed to October 23, 2026, but has been removed from Universal’s roster. According to Variety‘s sources, Peele is still working on the project, and has yet to begin the filming process.

Details surrounding the film, including its cast and premise, have yet to be made public, though Peele opened up about the project at the start of last year, calling it his “favourite” of all his works so far.

After a successful career in comedy, Peele made his directorial debut with 2017’s Get Out, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and numerous other nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Peel then produced  BlacKkKlansman in 2017, before returning to directing and writing for the acclaimed horror movies Us (2019) and Nope (2022), reuniting with Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya for the latter. He also co-wrote the 2021 sequel to 1992’s Candyman, directed by Nia DaCosta.

Daniel Kaluuya in ‘Get Out’. Credit: Universal

He has since produced two films – Monkey Man and HIM – via his Monkeypaw production company, and is rumoured to have fired his management team after they were unable to secure producer rights for the acclaimed horror film Weapons.

Peele’s last directed film, 2022’s Nope, scored a four-star review from NME: “From the movie’s unpredictability, patterns and motifs emerge; something as simple as the one-word title becomes part mantra, part running joke, part time-keeping metronome. It turns out that Peele’s background as a sketch comedian doesn’t just make him aware of certain genre tropes, or able to inject humour into tense situations (though both of those things are true). At times, he seems to imply that comedy and horror are both ways of processing the perverse mysteries of the world—and looking at things we shouldn’t be looking at. This also makes Nope a film that rewards repeat watching.”

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