The fictional theme park from Jordan Peele's highly anticipated horror film Nope is already getting a permanent spot on the Universal Studios Tour.
Nope, the newest film from star director Peele (Get Out, Us), was first announced on November 9, 2020. Universal released its first official Nope trailer in February of this year, but the studio has kept the project surrounded in mystery. Now, audiences will soon get to take part in a piece of Peele's newest film.
Although the film is not even out yet, Nope is already getting a permanent spot on the Universal Studios Tour. One of the film’s major set pieces, the fictional theme park Jupiter's Claim, has been reconstructed as part of the famous attraction. Guests on the tour, which is part of the larger Universal Studios Hollywood theme park, get the opportunity to go behind the scenes on the set of auteur Peele's latest horror epic, along with other famous film sets like the Bates home from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.
Jupiter's Claim is a central set piece from Nope, serving as a family theme park that presents a white-washed vision of the California Gold Rush. “I remember visiting Universal Studios when I was 12 years old and being mesmerized. That experience reinforced my passion and drive to someday join in on the meta-magic of ‘backlot life,’" Jordan Peele wrote in a public statment. "Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to direct three movies for Universal. It is a privilege to honor these collaborations with my studio partners, crew members, and cast, and to be able to share Jupiter’s Claim with fans.”
The real-world Jupiter's Claim opens on July 22, the same day as Nope itself. Per The Hollywood Reporter, this is the first time a Universal Studios Tour attraction has ever opened on the same day as the film it is based on, and for good reason: It’s a pretty risky move. Without any indication of how well Nope will do at the box office, Universal has invested its money in the project. This shows a lot of confidence from the studio that Nope is going to be a major success. Indeed, this confidence is not misplaced, as Nope recently won the Most Anticipated Film award from the Hollywood Critics Association's Midseason Awards.
The studio’s ambitious move recalls other major movie-centered theme parks of recent years. In particular, Disneyland garnered a lot of attention with its construction of two new massive attractions, Pandora — the World of Avatar in 2017 and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in 2019, which together take up nearly 30 acres. Although Jupiter's Claim at Universal Studios Hollywood will be a far less ambitious project than Disneyland's themed behemoths, it still could be a risky venture.
Nope hits theaters on July 22, 2022.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter