Why Jordan Peele’s New Football Horror Him Feels Like a ’90s Nike Ad — Director Explains the Surprising Choice
Justin Tipping’s football horror film Him has drawn attention for its teaser trailers, its visual style, and Jordan Peele’s producer credit. The film adapts a Black List screenplay titled GOAT and stars Tyriq Withers and Marlon Wayans, and it is set to open in theaters on Sept. 19.
- Teaser and preview footage drew early online attention.
- Screenplay was bought from the Black List under the title GOAT.
- Jordan Peele and Monkeypaw Productions are attached as producers.
- The film mixes football imagery with psychological and body-horror influences.
- Release date: Sept. 19.
What Him is about
The screenplay, originally titled GOAT, appeared on the 2022 Black List and was purchased by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions. You can see the Black List entry as archived at the Internet Archive.
According to the film’s official synopsis, the story centers on an up-and-coming football player named Cameron Cade and a legendary quarterback named Isaiah, and it explores the consequences of a career-threatening brain injury for the athlete at the center of the story. More details are available on the film’s official synopsis page.
The Black List archive entry and the film’s own synopsis page provide those production and plot credits.
Trailers and previews
The first teaser trailer arrived in April and generated a strong reaction online because of its nightmarish tone and striking images. In addition, the studio released preview featurettes that add context but do not fully reveal the film’s narrative.
Themes and influences
Justin Tipping described the film’s central theme in his own words: “For me, this is about what happens when the athlete becomes the commodity.” He connected that idea to the psychology of athletes pursuing GOAT status and to the broader commercial pressures around sports.
Visually and tonally, Tipping said he pulled from sports coverage and psychological horror. He cited influences such as The Shining and Jacob’s Ladder, as well as the language of television football coverage like Friday Night Lights. He also referenced the aesthetic of certain sports ads from the 1990s, including the Nike Freestyle campaign, when discussing the film’s look.
For a specific reference about a sports visual that informed Tipping’s thinking, he pointed to a viral image of Kobe Bryant in the locker room; the source of that item was a social post linked in his interview.
The Nike Freestyle campaign article and a linked social post about Kobe provide those visual reference points.
https://twitter.com/sportingnews/status/1537067418572541952
Visual style
Tipping worked with cinematographer Kira Kelly to create a high-contrast, top-lit look that deliberately nods to sports advertising and to horror language. He said he wanted audiences initially to feel like they were watching a sports story or a Nike-style ad, and then to subvert those expectations as the film shifts into darker territory.
In Tipping’s words: “I wanted to set it up in the language of a Friday Night Lights, and make the audience kind of relax and sit back, and be like, ‘All right, yeah, sports story, Nike ad, feel-good, ESPN, 30 for 30.’ And once everything starts to settle in, there’s a shift, and I want to start subverting all those expectations and let it devolve into something new.”
He also described a specific framing idea used to bring horror language into football coverage: “A guy comes back to throw a football, but if we just frame it up, low-angle looking up, suddenly we’re recreating a frame from Halloween, with Michael Myers holding the knife.”
Cast and production
The film stars Tyriq Withers as Cameron Cade and Marlon Wayans as Isaiah. Jordan Peele is credited as a producer through Monkeypaw Productions, and the screenplay credit goes to Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie, the writers whose script appeared on the Black List under the title GOAT.
On casting Wayans, Tipping said he wanted an older actor to play someone who reads as younger on screen and who brings real-world experience: “I wanted somebody older to play younger. And it worked out that Marlon looks 10 years, if not 20 years, younger than he actually is. But he also carried with him experience, which you can’t teach.”
Tipping first met Jordan Peele in 2017, after Peele won the Academy Award for Get Out and had started Monkeypaw Productions. When Monkeypaw acquired the script, Tipping joined the project as director. He described Monkeypaw’s role as backing the film and offering development and editorial input without hijacking the director’s vision. Tipping said Peele served as a sounding board during development and the edit.
Release
The studio has scheduled Him to open in theaters on Sept. 19. The film’s production credits include director Justin Tipping, producer credits via Monkeypaw Productions, and a screenplay by Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie based on the Black List-listed script originally titled GOAT.
Interview source
The director’s comments about theme, casting, and visual approach were made in an interview that has been edited for concision and clarity; the interview video is linked above.
