According to Variety, Jordan Peele is teaming up with Blumhouse Productions and QC Entertainment to direct the satirical horror-thriller film Get Out. The script was written by Peele and this will be his feature directional debut. The film centers on a young African-American man who visits his girlfriend’s Caucasian family. Known for his work on Comedy Central’s Key & Peele, which wrapped up its fifth and final season in early September, regularly provided viewers with a fresh, comedic look at race and societal issues in America.
These issues will also be explored by Peele in the film. Despite the well-known lucrative and influential possibilities for films within the horror genre, racial issues have long been disregarded. Peele is also known for his recurring role on the animated Fox series Bob’s Burgers, previously tried his hand at a darker roles with the first season of FX’s Emmy-winning series Fargo. Peele said of the project:
People know me for my work in comedy, but now I’ll get to focus on my passion for writing and directing horror films. Like comedy, horror has an ability to provoke thought and further the conversation on real social issues in a very powerful way. Get Out takes on the task of exploring race in America, something that hasn’t really been done within the genre since Night of the Living Dead 47 years ago. It’s long overdue.
Sean McKittrick and Edward H. Hamm Jr. from QC Entertainment are producing the movie along with Jason Blum. Couper Samuelson from Blumhouse is executive producing along with QC’s Ray Mansfield and Shaun Redick. Blumhouse Productions, which came to prominence with the Paranormal Activity, Sinister and Insidious horror franchises, recently teamed with M. Night Shyamalan on The Visit and with Joel Edgerton in his directional debut The Gift.
Peele and Key & Peele co-star, Keegan-Michael Key will be starring in their first feature film together Keanu which was written by Peele and is set to release in April of 2016.