Nope’s Weird Scorpion King Movie Connection Explained
Warning! Contains SPOILERS for Nope.
Jordan Peele is known for referencing other films in his movies, but none are as overt as his The Scorpion King references in Nope. It was revealed that the main characters in Nope, OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Em Haywood (Keke Palmer), have a personal connection to the 2002 Mummy prequel. Through the family business, Haywood Hollywood Horses, OJ worked on the crew training horses for the movie.
The Scorpion King was released in 2002 as a spin-off to The Mummy franchise. The film marked Dwayne «The Rock» Johnson's first role as lead and was a moderate box office success. From a critical standpoint, the film is not considered to be very good, with a cheesy script and predictable action scenes. Notably, it was The Rock's second appearance as the titular Scorpion King, as he portrayed the character in The Mummy Returns. The CGI of The Rock in The Scorpion King has become notorious due to how hilariously bad it was, even for that era.
Related: What's Up With The Chimp In Nope? Is Gordy An Alien?
Reminiscing on their childhood after the death of their father, Em brings up that their father promised her a horse of her own to train called Jean Jacket. Ultimately, their father did not keep the promise as OJ and Otis Sr. trained Jean Jacket for a big Hollywood movie that would become The Scorpion King. The gig did not grant the Haywood family its hoped-for success, as camels were used instead of horses. However, a memento from the film, an orange Scorpion King hoodie, gets some significant screentime in Nope when OJ rocks it during the final encounter with the alien.
Jordan Peele's movies are known for sparking online discourse about their hidden meanings and mysteries and Nope is no different. The
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