Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya Talk Playing Scared in 'Nope' (Exclusive)

Keke Palmer couldn't be more excited to play terrified in Jordan Peele's upcoming supernatural thriller, Nope. The actress and co-star Daniel Kaluuya spoke with ET's Rachel Smith at Universal Studios in Los Angeles this week, where a set from the movie, the western town Jupiter's Claim, has been recreated as part of the theme park's Studio Tour ride.

"Jupiter's Claim has a really cool story in Nope," Palmer teases. "I don't want to give too much away about it, but Steven Yeun['s character] has a great connection to this place, and I think people are going to like the universe that it explores."

Nope reunites Kaluuya with director Jordan Peele for another mysterious adventure, following their breakout moment with 2017's Get Out. Palmer had also worked with the director before, though in a much less intense capacity -- on his Comedy Central sketch series, Key & Peele.

"This is such a greater scale than anything I have ever done," she shares with ET, "and I think it was also a jump for him, just in terms of all the effects and filming on IMAX cameras. We have all this time and space to really do everything that we want."

Palmer admitted that it was a bit of a creative challenge to play frighted for the more suspenseful scenes, but added that Peele gave his stars the space to try different reactions and "be as true as you can to the moment."

"It was just awesome, and also I love my character," she adds. "Emerald has so many different aspects to her. She starts off in this jester personality, and slowly plays in the orphan archetype. The way that she is written is just so skillfully, and I was just excited to play and do her justice." 

In Nope, Palmer and Kaluuya play Emerald and OJ Haywood, a brother-sister duo of Hollywood horse trainers, who encounter alien activity on their isolated ranch. They shared with ET that the familial roles felt "natural" to them, with Kaluuya praising Palmer as "a very generous performer."

"I always feel like, in a scene, she wants the best for me and I want the best for her," he explains, with agreement from his co-star. "It's like, 'OK, so what makes sense for this scene? How do we vibe out?' We really cared about making joyous moments between them, and having those moments where a brother and sister -- or brother and brother or sister and sister -- go, 'That's like me!'" 

Kaluuya's commitment to Nope, however, meant that he was unable to return to the MCU for a role in the upcoming Black Panther sequel. However, the actor shared that there's no hard feelings between him and the franchise, and that he's confident that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever pays fitting tribute to late star Chadwick Boseman.

"It's love, man, but also, I've heard things and I know that they're gonna do Chad an incredible, incredible, incredible service, so that's what I really care about," the actor shares. "I can't wait to watch it."

See more of what Kaluuya said on the upcoming Black Panther sequel in the video below. Nope is in theaters July 22.

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