The Vault: NOPE

Designing Jean Jacket for Jordan Peele’s NOPE

In NOPE, what initially looks like a classic flying saucer is, in fact, a living, predatory creature. From the very beginning, director Jordan Peele approached the visual development as an opportunity to blend mystery, suspense, and grounded realism. Working alongside Peele from the outset, Art Director Léandre Lagrange helped shape the creature and its relationship to the skies, long before any shots were filmed.

Léandre collaborated with Peele from the earliest script drafts, exploring not only what the creature looked like, but how it moved, interacted with its environment, and influenced the story itself. Their early dialogue allowed the design team to define the creature’s dual identity: one shape resembling a traditional UFO to satisfy expectations, the other revealing the true predatory beast.

“One version would be significantly close to the shape of a flying saucer to justify the UFO lore… The other more as an animal, which allowed Jordan to reveal its true nature later in the film,” explains Leandre. “And, of course, we had to figure out how it would ‘transform’ from one to the other.”

Early design work also leaned on unexpected sources for inspiration. Origami informed the structure, giving the creature rhythm and folds that suggested both geometry and life.

“One of my first versions of the creature design was heavily influenced by the notion of folds and the beauty and rhythm of the lines created by folded paper. We did a lot of exploration around it… but we ended up coming back to the original idea and shape every time. Marrying the language of folding with the reference of living creatures gave us a unique entity.”

Collaboration with Peele was iterative. As the script evolved, the design evolved with it, creating a feedback loop between narrative and visual development.

“Jordan was really excited about the design, the possibilities, and the new ideas it gave him… We researched its locomotion, eating process, and relationship to the clouds. Jordan ran with our design, and we got to see the script evolve and become richer and deeper at every step.”

The team also treated the sky itself as an essential part of storytelling. Cloud formations, lighting, and atmosphere became tools to hide, reveal, and amplify tension, ensuring that every scene with the creature felt both extraordinary and believable.

“If anything, we were very conscious of how to exploit familiar sci-fi tropes and not reject them. We were trying to find an elegant design solution for the creature and stay away from the notion of monsters, aliens, etc. It had to be something else.”

By combining early collaboration, iterative design, and attention to environmental storytelling, Léandre and the team created a creature that is as grounded as it is terrifying. From its folded, origami-inspired form to its interaction with the clouds, every decision reinforced both suspense and narrative cohesion.

This feature is part of Square One: The Vault - a series revisiting our team’s portfolio, exploring the early concepts and visual thinking that shape our most memorable projects.