Us: The Complete Annotated Screenplay

by Jordan Peele

“A colossal cinematic achievement” —Richard Brody, the New Yorker

A masterpiece of identity horror and a dark reflection on America’s past and present, Us presents chilly atmospherics, psychological torment and old-world suspense-building plot twists. Whereas Get Out was considered more a mixture of drama and suspense, Peele leaned fully into the horror genre with his sophomore film, using urban legends such as doppelgangers to tease out the uniquely American perceptions of xenophobia and “othering.” Critic Monica Castillo wrote of the “Us is another thrilling exploration of the past and oppression this country is still too afraid to bring up. Peele wants us to talk, and he’s given audiences the material to think, to feel our way through some of the darker sides of the human condition.”
Published in conjunction with the fifth anniversary of the critically acclaimed film’s release, this companion paperback features Oscar®-winning director Jordan Peele’s screenplay, alternate endings and deleted scenes, and is richly illustrated with over 150 stills from the motion picture. Specially commissioned annotations by hannah baer, Theaster Gates, Jamieson Webster, Jared Sexton, Mary Ping, Shana Redmond and Leila Taylor present a cosmology of images, definitions and inspirations that extend the themes of the film. Continuing in the legacy of 1960s paperbacks that documented the era’s most significant avant-garde films—such as Kurosawa’s Rashomon, Godard’s Masculin Féminin and Antonioni’s L’Avventura—Us is an indispensable guide to a deeper understanding of this important film.
Jordan Peele (born 1979) is a writer, actor and filmmaker who rose to fame as half of the comedy duo Key & Peele. He has written and directed three feature Get Out (2017), Us (2019) and Nope (2022). He was the first Black screenwriter to win an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Genres: Horror, Plays

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2025

About the author

Jordan Haworth Peele is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele started his career in sketch comedy before transitioning his career as a writer and director of psychological horror and satirical films.

Reviews

[Olivia (Stories For Coffee) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m absolutely obsessed with reading Jordan’s work. The amount of depth that this script adds to the film is superb. His use of symbolism and foreshadowing, along with his exploration of synchronicities in this story blew me away.

Jordan is one of the greatest writers in Hollywood.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

if us (2019) has no fans i’m dead

[Iza Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one!! I had never read a screen play of a film before and I really liked the format of this one. I’d agree with Eveisreading that it was much easier to see connections and foreshadowing going thru the story at a reading pace (although it also helps that I’ve seen the movie before and am familiar with the plot) and the cosmology section and deleted scenes were a super interesting insight into the detail and thought going into the film, and added very interesting context for many scenes.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great script, and great pieces of insight into the themes placed throughout the book. The only thing that wasn't great was that a few splash pages with images from the film didn't print well between two pages. I've seen the film many a time so it wasn't really that much of a downside though.

[Breily · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[eve is reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

never read a screenplay before and this was fun! a nice companion to the movie, but the real gem is the cosmology in the back of the book. it gave me lots to think about and this was even more enjoyable going in knowing what is happening because i could make many more conclusions and insights as we moved through the story.

[Kelsey Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

The screenplay itself is fantastic, and as a big fan of the film, I'm happy to see it getting recognition. Unfortunately, I have some issues with the book overall. There is an index at the back featuring relevant facts, explanations of references made in the film, and prose examining the story's themes. Some of the little blurbs are poorly written and extremely verbose while also featuring incomplete, borderline-nonsensical sentences. Wikipedia is listed in the citations as the source for several "facts."

Also, there are formatting problems where images displayed across page spreads suffer from the entire middle of the image falling into the gutter between the two pages. There is a section containing deleted scenes, and throughout the screenplay, the corresponding pages for the cut dialogue are listed. The final two cut scenes are in the wrong order on the page, causing some confusion.

[Alex Gruenenfelder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great horror film and a good screenplay. Jordan Peele is a very talented artist: the finished product far exceeds the script it is based on, yet the script still makes for a scary page-turner. Definitely recommend as a study in writing a horror screenplay.

[Vantriani Horror · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente guión y excelente película. Este libro nos da escenas eliminadas, diálogos editados o eliminado y todas las referencias que hay en la película y no pudimos notar. Lo recomiendo ampliamente si eres seguidos de este gran guionista y director.

[BookBoo]

Unrated.

I enjoyed watching the movie back while reading this. Something I found interesting was that the line reads were more directly from the screenplay, whereas, in Get Out (2019), there was way more wiggle room to improvise!

[Christian Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m super grateful to whoever’s idea it was to do this for “Get Out” and now “Us.” I’m looking forward to “Nope,” and would love something similar for Jordan’s “Twilight Zone.”

[Mima · Rating 5 out of 5]

OHMYGOD im gonna busssssss

[Thomas Favelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peele the goat

[Liz Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Screenplay itself: outstanding

Typos and missed opportunities for pointing out even more Easter eggs: disappointing

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent way to revisit the film, though I feel that the footnotes are of a lower quality this time around due to some feeling like tacked on lectures rather than background information.

[Amelia (Taylors Version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5/read for school*

[Melody Vaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am genuinely floored I’ve never loved a possession of mine more than this book, Jordan Peele your name WILL be in history books (I will make sure)

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool

[Danté E. Corrales · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just need the nope screenplay and then I'll be happy