Jeff Sneider buried the lede in his most recent newsletter.
The InSneider is reporting that none other than Jordan Peele recently took a meeting at Marvel for one of their upcoming films. Which one? Sneider isn’t allowed to tell. I’m sure once this story goes viral there will be rampant speculation: ‘Spider-Man 4’? ‘X-Men’? ‘Midnight Sons’?
Sure, it was only a meeting, but this does send an indication to other studios that Peele might not just be interested in directing original stories. As Sneider states, perhaps he’s ready to dive into the “lucrative world of IP filmmaking”.
Peele’s own brand isn’t quite as untouchable as it was coming off of Get Out, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. His follow-up, Us, earned just as much at the box office but wasn’t as well received, while his most recent effort, Nope, marked Peele’s lowest-grossing movie despite being his most expensive.
On the producing side, Peele has been struggling. “Monkey Man” barely made a dent at the box office. HBO canceled “Lovecraft Country” after one season. His ‘Twilight Zone’ reboot was a bust. Nia DaCosta’s “Candyman” barely broke even.
We’ll see if anything arises from this, but it is disconcerting to know that Peele is tempted to helm a Disney blockbuster, much like Barry Jenkins and Ryan Coogler recently did. Money talks and I bet Disney would offer him good cash to helm one of their tentpoles.
Peele is a talented filmmaker, with great chops behind the camera, and a promising career ahead of him. 2017’s “Get Out” broke him out in a big way and his ensuing films, “Us and “Nope,” although not as successful, were ambitious and interesting films.
All of this makes me wonder if his next directorial project, still untitled and un-cast, will actually happen. This next film was set to be released on December 25, 2024, before being quietly pulled from Universal's release schedule following the impact of the 2023 strikes.