Jordan Peele on Why Monkey Man Moved From Netflix to Theaters

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Jordan Peele on Why Monkey Man Moved From Netflix to Theaters

Dev Patel’s directorial debut, Monkey Man, is set to arrive in theaters next month. However, the film was originally bought by Netflix, meaning the action thriller would go straight to streaming. That changed when Jordan Peele saw the film earlier this year and brought it to Universal under his Monkeypaw banner.

On Monday night, Monkey Man premiered at SXSW and “blew the roof the off,” leading to a standing ovation. Peele introduced the film and explained why he stepped in to give Monkey Man a theatrical release.

“This is a film that simply demands to be seen in a theater with a huge rockstar audience,” Peele said before the screening (via Deadline). “I’ve never seen someone [Patel] pour his heart, soul, body, mind, and energy into a film, into a story more than this man.”

What to Expect in Monkey Man?

“Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Dev 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,” the official synopsis reads. “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.”

Patel stars as Kid, the action hero at the center of Monkey Man. Patel is joined by an ensemble that includes Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunt, and Makarand Deshpande.

Monkey Man is directed by Patel from a script he co-wrote with Paul Angunawela and John Collee. Producers include Patel, Peele, Jomon Thomas, Win Rosenfeld, Ian Cooper, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Christine Haebler, and Anjay Nagpal.

Monkey Man opens in theaters on April 5, 2024.