Jordan Peele Throws That Popular ‘Us’ Fan Theory About Jason For a Loop
Zack Sharf
On top of critical acclaim and strong box office, Jordan Peele’s “Us” also inspired countless fan theories about the story’s secret meanings and ambiguous plot threads. One of the most popular theories that emerged following the film’s March release involved young Jason (Evan Alex), who some fans believed was a Tethered all along just like his mother Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o).
Jason and Adelaide share a telling glance in the film’s final moments that fueled speculation Jason and his doppelgänger, Pluto, switched places prior to the events of the film. The switch theory had many believing Jason was aware of Adelaide’s true identity the whole time. Unfortunately, this idea will have to remain wish fulfillment for now as Peele somewhat debunks the theory while providing commentary on the “Us” Blu-ray.
“I always thought of the family in terms of a certain archetypal foursome,” Peele explains. “Adelaide is the leader, the captain. Zora is the warrior. She acts before she thinks and she kicks ass. Gabe is the fool, even though on the surface he looks like he might be the leader or the warrior. And Jason is the wizard. He’s the magician.”
Peele continues, “I have this kinda concept of Jason that he can sorta see through the veil. You can see these moments where he’s observing his mother and he’s meant to be a little step ahead of us, the most clever of us that’s sorta figuring out there’s something more to Adelaide’s story than we see.”
The commentary confirms Jason did not have prior awareness of Adelaide’s identity and instead “figured out” there’s something more to her story before the audience caught up with the plot twist. There are several times during the film where the viewer can see Lupita Nyong’o holding back Adelaide from making small Tethered tics and gestures, so it’s not out of the question that Jason picked up on these signals and realized his mother was born a Tethered before the big third act reveal. Peele’s quote somewhat closes the door on the theory that Jason was a Tethered with clear knowledge of Adelaide’s situation from the start.
“Us” was recently named one of the 10 best films of 2019 by IndieWire. The film is now available on Blu-ray.
