Jordan Peele has unequivocally cemented his legacy as one of the most prolific and profitable directors in the realm of modern cinematic horror. The 44-year-old sketch comedian memorably kicked off his directing career with 2017’s Get Out, which resonated both commercially and culturally with horror fans across the globe. Peele followed up this success with Us (2019), which accumulated $255 million worldwide and received similar critical praise.
Peele’s latest horror extravaganza Nope received similar praise and acclaim when the project premiered in theaters last summer. And while Nope has undoubtedly echoed similar success to Peele’s other directorial projects, it’s equally as important to showcase Peele’s earlier movies which unequivocally helped him become a household name in both the horror genre and a wide variety of other cinematic categories.
Of course, Peele has provided excellent work as either a scriptwriter or producer for various projects such as Candyman (2021), Keanu (2016), and BlacKkKlansman (2018), but we’ll strictly keep this list short and outline Peele’s unprecedented work solely as a director. So, here is every movie Jordan Peele directed, ranked.
3. Nope (2022)
Despite Nope being Peele’s latest thrill-inducing project with his largest budget available thus far, it would feel like a complete disservice to place the horror extravaganza higher than either Get Out or Us. While those were two movies which skyrocketed Peele’s directorial prowess, Nope is undoubtedly Peele’s weakest entry to date. That’s not to say that the horror flick isn’t wildly entertaining or captivating, but the truth of the matter is that he’s already provided his best work in Nope’s two predecessors. We still love Peele and all his work, of course, and we look forward to his next bigtime project.
2. Us (2019)
Peele followed his successful directorial debut with Us in 2019, which eerily followed a family being targeted by a group of vengeful doppelgängers later identified as the “Tethered.” To coincide with Peele’s brilliant writing, he also put together a phenomenal cast that features Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker, all of who contribute to the bone-chilling premise that further established Peele’s credibility as a director in horror. On top of that, Peele assembles an unexpected twist ending that still leaves our jaws on the floor with every rewatch.
1. Get Out (2017)
Without a doubt, Get Out remains Jordan Peele’s most successful and culturally-significant film in his repertoire. Both directed and written by Peele, the story follows a young man named Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) who finds himself discovering unsettling secrets about the family of his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams). Upon release, the film was highly favored by critics and audiences alike, with many movie critics placing Get Out at the top of their lists for the best movies of 2017. In the end, Peele created the perfect balance of horror and drama to send a powerful message of liberal ignorance and the troubles of systematic racism. As a result, Get Out comfortably sits at the top of the list as the best movie from Jordan Peele.