Jordan Peele on ‘Nope’ Set Becoming Universal Studios Attraction: ‘I’m Very Proud’ (Exclusive)

Jordan Peele is known for bringing nightmares to the silver screen, but Nope dreams a little bigger and moviegoers will have the chance to actually step into the world of his latest horror entry.

The Oscar-winning director and Nope’s cast chatted with ET’s Rachel Smith at Universal Studios Hollywood, where the set of Jupiter’s Claim, a pivotal location in the movie, is becoming part of the iconic Studio Tour attraction.

“This is a piece of the Nope set that is a sort of mom-and-pop theme park owned by a former child star in the film, so it’s very meta,” Peele explains. “It’s on the Universal backlot tour and it’s the first time anything like this has happened, where the actual set is showcased as the movie is coming out.”

He adds, “I am very proud.”

As Peele noted, until Jupiter’s Claim, the debut of a Studio Tour attraction has never before opened day and date with the corresponding project’s release date. For some context, Jurassic Park – The Ride (now Jurassic World – The Ride) opened to the public three years after the film hit theaters, which at the time was even considered to have been expedited when compared with most drawing board to execution timelines.

In Nope, Emerald (Keke Palmer) and OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) are a brother-sister duo of Hollywood horse trainers who encounter alien activity on their isolated ranch. “I wrote a script that was impossible. I brought it to people and they told me why it was impossible,” Peele remembers. “I was like, ‘Good. OK. Now, I know I am doing the right thing.’ And then I put together a team.”

Part of that behind-the-scenes ensemble included Ruth De Jong, the production designer for Peele’s sophomore outing, 2019’s Us. The sketch comedy star turned horror maestro was quick to share praise, telling ET that De Jong is “an amazing talent” who “put the world of Nope together.”

The impressive turnaround time is thanks in part to discussions kicking off at the onset of production, where Peele and producing partner Ian Cooper began collaborating with Universal Creative to conceptualize how best to integrate the set into the Studio Tour. After filming wrapped, De Jong worked closely with park developers to carefully disassemble the Jupiter’s Claim set and then meticulously reconstruct it on site.

During the interview, Peele took a moment to wave in the direction of passing guests on the Studio Tour tram. “I don’t know if they can tell it’s me or if they’re just waving because a person’s waving,” he jokes. “I have social anxiety and self-esteem issues. Even when a tram is going by and waving at me on my own set [at] Universal Studios — I still feel shame.”

Steven Yeun plays Ricky “Jupe” Park, the aforementioned former child star who owns and operates Jupiter’s Claim, which is described as “a family-fun theme park and predicated on the white-washed history and aesthetics of the California Gold Rush.” “I was just like, ‘What are we doing? This is so wild,’” Yeun tells ET of the first time he saw the scope of Nope’s production design.