Remakes or reboots don’t have to stick to their predecessors’ storylines or bring back old characters. Jordan Peele proved it when he “remade”Jaws– well, not exactly. His 2022 filmNopeis arguably a spiritual successor to Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, even though it isn’t set in the same world and doesn’t feature a single shark or beach.
Next year,Jawswill celebrate its 50th anniversary, and the thriller about hunting down the killer great white shark is still as terrifying as ever. While the film may not be considered outrighthorror, the tension and fear it creates in the audience remain unmatched. Many filmmakers have borrowed tropes fromJaws, but no one has done it quite like Peele’scosmic horror homage,Nope.
JawsAndNopeAre Connected From The Start
The parallels betweenJawsandNopeare noticeable right from the premise. Both films center on a group of 3–4 people trying to stop a mysterious, man-eating threat.Jawstakes a more realistic approach with a shark as the force of evil, whileNope’sJean Jacket is a large UFO that’s eventually revealed to be a massive predatory organism. This also evokes Spielberg’s alien-focused thrillerClose Encounters of the Third Kind, which makes sense, given thatNope’sdirector Jordan Peeleis a self-professed Spielberg fan.
Character Connections BetweenNopeandJaws
A story is often defined more by its characters than its plot, which makes sense as to whycritics callNope,“SpaceJaws.” The Haywood siblings, OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Em (Keke Palmer), are like split versions ofJaws’ Chief Brody, all it upon themselves to stop a deadly threat from destroying their ranch or town. While Brody relied on marine expert Hooper, OJ and Em seek help from Angel Torres, an electronics store worker who helps them by setting up cameras and becomes their ally. Both Hooper and Torres risk their lives by offering themselves as bait — one in a steel cage underwater, the other wrapped in barbed wire as literal food for the creature.
But the most obvious character parallel toJawsisQuint, who is essentiallyNope’sAntlers Holst. The veteran nature documentary cinematographer’s gravelly voice and haunting storytelling style is almost identical to the seasoned shark hunter fromJaws. Another clear character influence comes with Amity Island’s Mayor Larry Vaughn, who is quite similar to Jupe inNope. Steven Yeun’s character tries to profit from the UFO and turn it into a spectacle. Similarly, the mayor inJawsis more concerned about his town’s image and losing revenue from closing the beaches, despite the threat of aman-eating shark.
How Jordan Peele Borrows Suspense Tropes FromJaws
It’s easy for a film to copy plot points or simply imitate characters from a classic likeJaws, as seen in the countless ripoffs that followed the original summer blockbuster. However, the reasonNopefeels more like aJawssequel/remakethan films likeMegorDeep Blue Sealies in how Jordan Peele effectively uses the film’s tropes to create horror and suspense.Steven Spielbergis considered a master for his creative choice to not show the shark for most of the runtime. Peele replicates this technique by never revealingNope’sreal monster in its marketing. Instead, the movie shows a cloud that later becomes a UFO, which is ultimately shown to be a jellyfish-like organism floating in the sky. By withholding the monsters, both films generate a sense of dread in the audience by evoking a fear of the unknown.
Jawsfanscan spot many homages hidden in plain sight inNope. In fact, both films tease their monsters at the start in almost identical fashion.Jaws’ iconic opening scene is from the POV of the shark swimming underwater, which Peele mimics inNopefrom inside the alien’s throat. Both films begin with deaths without revealing who or what caused them. Another clever reference occurs when Jupe’s kids prank OJ in alien costumes, similar to how two kids cause panic on the beach with plastic shark fins inJaws. Furthermore, the shark is tagged with bright yellow floating barrels to track its movement, andNopedoes something similar with the colorful flags attached to the horse mannequin that the alien consumes.
NopeIs More Than Just References And Homages
The “Spielberg-isms” don’t stop withJawsorClose Encounters of the Third Kind. Nopealso features clear nods toJurassic ParkandE.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The film draws inspiration from even more classics like M. Night Shyamalan’sSigns, the original 1933King Kong,The Wizard of Oz, andNeon Genesis Evangelion. And of course, who can forget the homage toThe Shiningin the scene where blood rains down on the ranch house?
However,the director ofGet Outproves his originality by going beyond homages and tropes. His film conveys a broader theme about humanity’s relentless pursuit of spectacle and the role exploitation plays in this. He even adds an extra narrative layer with the horrificGordy the Chimp incidentthat takes place in anSNL-like setting.
The bottom line is thatNope’sJean Jacket isJaws’shark in the open skies. Peele makes no attempt at subtlety as the supposed UFO unveils its sentient, monstrous form, complete with a gaping mouth and a set of…jaws. And as one last parallel, it’s these jaws that are blown apart to bring about the monsters’ ends in both classics — one with a compressed air tank, and the other with a helium balloon.
