We just ran the exclusive on Jordan Peele‘s next thriller, which will focus on a young man living on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Giving it some thought, it slowly dawned on us that there was one more project that the acclaimed director is currently working on. Empire revealed that he was going to be producing a remake of The People Under the Stairs. The original film was released in 1991 with Wes Craven as the director. It focused on a young resident named Poindexter Williams, who lived in the L.A. ghetto. He breaks into the house of his former landlord, who evicted his family from their apartment. There they discover a dark secret that will put their lives on the line.
Now, the only real connection we have between these projects is their location. We reported that the protagonist lives on the outskirts of the city, but there were no details or even a film title. So, if he started as a producer on the remake, he may have decided to use the concept to match a project he was working on. In his Business Insider interview from 2017, he already teased having four different projects planned out. He planned to release them throughout the next decade, so there is a chance he had a concept that was similar enough to The People Under the Stairs that he took over the project. It isn’t much to go on, but it is an interesting coincidence that he would produce and direct films that take place in Los Angeles. The lack of title may be an indication that it may just be inspired by the original rather than a direct remake. Peele might add a new twist to the original to adapt it to current social issues. Whatever it may end up being, we’ll be sure to keep an eye out as this project nears production.
Source: Empire, Deadline, Business Insider
