Dev Patel’s directorial debut, Monkey Man, will hit theaters in a few weeks, and, as you may have heard, we have Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us, Nope) to thank for that.
Monkey Man was reportedly scheduled for a streaming release, but Peele saw the movie and loved it so much that he had his production company, Monkeypaw, work with Universal Pictures to distribute it in theaters. In a new featurette for the film, we see Peele express his love for the movie firsthand, interspersed with some behind-the-scenes footage as well as some snippets of the movie’s action sequences.
“Dev created a world that’s gritty and tragic, but cinematically beautiful,” Peele says in the clip, as we see Patel working behind and in front of the camera. Peele went on to add that he was especially drawn to the film because it follows Patel’s character turning from a revenger to an avenger.
Here’s the official synopsis, if you’re intrigued:
Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.
After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Check out the featurette below to see Peele promising that you’ll lose you’ll shit if you see this movie on the big screen.
Monkey Man premieres in theaters on April 5, 2024.
