Jordan Peele’s HIM Unleashes a Blood-Soaked Vision of Fame, Football, and Madness

Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers bring intensity and terror to the field in Universal’s HIM.

Jordan Peele & Marlon Wayans Bring the Pain in HIM—A Blood-Soaked Descent into Football Fame

There’s nothing quite like the fusion of sports, horror, and obsession—especially when it’s laced with the prestige and paranoia of a Monkeypaw production. Yesterday, Universal released the official Red Band trailer for HIM, and while it begins with the pulse of a football story, it quickly spirals into a nightmare dripping with sweat, sacrifice, and blood. Think Get Out meets Friday Night Lights, bathed in the neon sheen of a cologne ad turned fever dream.

Today, we got an even deeper dive with a behind-the-scenes featurette, offering our first official look at what Peele and company have in store. At the center of this mind-warp is Tyriq Withers as Cameron Cade, a rising star QB with tunnel vision on greatness—until a brutal attack before the scouting Combine changes everything. Just when all hope seems lost, he’s rescued by his idol, Isaiah White, played with eerie, commanding intensity by Marlon Wayans.

Wayans, who continues to shed the comedic skin of his early years, looks absolutely unhinged here—in the best way. As Isaiah invites Cameron to train at his secluded, influencer-filled compound, the film begins to crack open. What unfolds appears to be a hallucinatory descent into cult-like mentorship, identity fracture, and the shadowy cost of becoming “HIM.”

Directed by Justin Tipping (Kicks), with a script from Limetown creators Zack Akers & Skip Bronkie, the film’s stylized horror feels soaked in testosterone and trauma. The compound sequences give us shades of Whiplash, but filtered through a Jordan Peele lens of paranoia and power. The supporting cast is just as bold—Julia Fox as Isaiah’s influencer wife, appearances from Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies, MMA brawler Maurice Greene, and the film debuts of Guapdad 4000 and Tierra Whack—HIM is dripping with alt-celebrity culture and cryptic surrealism.

Universal has HIM scheduled to hit theaters September 19th, and we’re hearing strong whispers that the film could land a slot at this year’s Fantastic Fest. Whether or not that happens, we’re tracking it closely—this is the kind of risk-heavy horror storytelling that reminds us why Monkeypaw continues to redefine the genre.

Until then, catch the trailer if you missed it, and dive into the new BTS footage to see what really went into crafting this twisted saga of greatness, obsession, and what happens when you sell your soul to be the best.

In Theaters September 19th.

Watch your heroes closely. Sometimes they’re the monster.