“Monkey Man” was shot and completed in 2021, and Netflix soon after acquired the rights for around $30 million, but it’s been on the shelf for three years and they‘ve all of a sudden decided to get rid of it? What gives?
It turns out, according to an in-the-know source, that it was the portrayal of a fictional right-wing Hindu Nationalist character in the film that worried Netflix about their future dealings in India. And even though they had paid more than twice the production cost, they decided to give the film back to the producers, which is what caused the long delay.
Universal and Peele eventually took a particular liking to the film, so much so that they suggested possible editing changes and delayed the release until what they thought would be the right date.
It’s as simple as that. In the end, it was all about politics and optics for the streaming giant, especially since India has become the current top growth market for Netflix. Co-Founder Reed Hastings has mentioned that a majority of the service's next 100 million subscribers would most likely come from India.
Universal/Jordan Peele's "suggested possible editing changes" in question:
The way that the alien in Nope's final form looks like an old studio camera. The way the opening credits take place inside its stomach, shown as an endless darkness framed by billowing sheets - the blanket-like hood of an old camera that the photographer hides under. The way Jupe calls the alien The Viewer. The way Jupe makes stuffed animals of what he imagines the aliens inside the "ship" to look like subconsciously reference the camera magazines on the set of Gordy's Home with the body of a monkey. The way that Jupe was only saved because the table cloth kept him from looking Gordy in the eyes. The way that OJ and Em signal "I see you" before the final showdown. The violence of attention. The all-seeing eye. The panopticon. The camera obscura. The dark chamber. The spectacle.