*On the strength of his wildly successful film “Get Out,” Universal Pictures has locked down writer-director Jordan Peele and his Monkeypaw Productions banner with a first-look overall production deal, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Under the two-year pact, Universal stakes a claim to Peele’s next film, an untitled social thriller that he will write, direct and produce. The budget for this next project, according to THR, will be about five times bigger than “Get Out.”
The deal comes as nearly every studio had been offering deals to Peele, who released “Get Out” under Universal. The studio moved swiftly and aggressively to bring the actor-filmmaker into the fold after “Get Out” grossed over $194 million worldwide and was made a budget of about $5 million.
“Through extraordinary imagination and fearless humor, Jordan has proven himself to be a game-changer who is driven to tell stories that are as commercially entertaining as they are disruptive and provocative,” said Universal chairman Donna Langley. “The entire Universal family takes great pride in his incomparable filmmaking debut, and feel fortunate that this studio will be Jordan’s home for many years to come.”
While the deal also calls for Peele to produce a wide range of projects, a very key aspect of the pact is Peele producing projects with the aim of giving a voice and opportunities to those traditionally under-represented in front and behind the camera, be it gender, race or sexual orientation. He will also reunite with Blum on micro-budget projects.
“I am thrilled to continue the work we started together on “Get Out” — pushing the boundaries of storytelling, not only on the next film but with all of Monkeypaw’s future projects,” said Peele.
Peele founded Monkeypaw in 2012 and the company produced Comedy Central’s “Key and Peele” for five seasons. It is also producing the upcoming Tracy Morgan comedy at TBS. On the film side, Monkeypaw’s credits include the New Line comedy “Keanu.”
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