*After the success of his directorial debut “Get Out,” comedian/actor Jordan Peele inked a first-look deal with Universal. Now the studio has dated his next film for March 15, 2019.
Plot details about the still-untitled social thriller are being kept under wraps. Peele will write, direct, and produce the project based on his original idea. The film will have a much larger budget than the $5 million spent on his 2017 breakout hit “Get Out.”
“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,” Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley said in a statement Wednesday. “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.”
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Variety notes that the pic will face stiff competition from Brie Larson’s “Captain Marvel,” which opens the week before, and Millie Bobby Brown’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” which launches the following week.
“Get Out” dominated the domestic box office earlier this year, and the thriller has since grossed $230 million worldwide. Under his new Universal deal, Peele will also produce a range of titles for the studio through his Monkeypaw Productions, including several micro-budget projects with “Get Out” producer Jason Blum.
Peele recently announced plans to develop “Lovecraft Country,” a new HBO event series with J.J. Abrams and Ben Stephenson, and “Underground” co-creator and showrunner Misha Green.
Jordan Peele broke out — along with Keegan-Michael Key — on the Comedy Central sketch series “Key & Peele.” The series premiered on January 31, 2012 and ended on September 9, 2015, with a total of 53 episodes, over the course of five seasons.
“Key & Peele” won a Peabody Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated for various other awards, including Writers Guild Award, NAACP Image Award and 16 additional Primetime Emmy Awards in various categories.
