Jean Jacket

The UFO, also known as Jean Jacket, (Scientific name: Occulonimbus edoequus) is the main antagonist of the 2022 science fiction western horror film Nope. Unlike traditional depictions of a spacecraft piloted by extraterrestrial beings, this UFO is a massive airborne creature adorned with tough, scale-like plating.

In its natural form, the alien resembles a large jellyfish with a square-shaped singular eye that is safeguarded by hundreds of protective green ribbon-like eyelashes. These lashes sway and undulate in a pattern that lures in unsuspecting wildlife and humans to gaze at Jean Jacket. Instead of employing conventional predatory methods like biting, the UFO's mouth extends to engulf its ensnared prey whole, then employs its arms to transform into a conventional UFO.

While the UFO is thought to be an extraterrestrial being, its origins are shrouded in mystery. It is not clear if it is a lone being or a member of an entire species. In either case, it (or its species) may be what humans have been calling "flying saucers" and mistaking for spaceships in their imagination.

It first makes its presence known over a horse ranch belonging to the Haywood family, which it chooses as its territory, stationing itself in one spot over a hill with a cloud obscuring it. After eating some unidentified human hikers, the UFO regurgitates the inorganic remains, such as keys and coins, directly over the ranch. The materials are shot out at bullet-like speed, with a coin piercing the head of Otis Haywood Sr., who later dies at a hospital. A key is left lodged deep in the hide of his horse.

OJ and Emerald become aware of the UFO through its effects on their ranch and try to take video evidence of the craft. They enlist the assistance of electrician Angel Torres and cinematographer Antlers Holst and first place a statue of a horse as bait for the spacecraft only for it to be tossed back because it is indigestible.

Somehow during that time, Ricky "Jupe" Park, a former child star and owner of the Jupiter's Claim amusement park, witnesses the alien craft and decides to make a spectacle out of it as a method of reclaiming some relevancy in the modern world. Unfortunately for him, the UFO arrives and consumes him and the entire audience inside where they all suffocate and later get slowly digested in its "stomach".

The UFO later appears above the farmhouse and drop tons of blood along with debris over the house, marking its territory before leaving the farmhouse.

In most of the film, Jean Jacket takes the appearance of a typical UFO saucer shape that is grey in color. However major differences include the fact its shape is not a perfect circle, but an eccentric truncated oval shape (similar to a flat tire or a grey cowboy hat). On the underside or "bottom" is a large hole, where Jupe describes (in a scene where he is presenting his "Star Lasso Experience") that the hole is two school bus lengths in diameter. A typical American school bus is approximately 14 metres long; therefore its diameter is roughly 28 metres.

The Jean Jacket UFO is roughly 110 metres in diameter, and 20 metres thick at its widest point.

Its outer skin has a fabric-cloth like texture, and at the front is a tiny slit-like recess which might be the UFO's front eye. The hole on its bottom also has another eye used to observe prey.

In the climax, the alien unfolds itself into a more massive form as a threat display which looks similar to a jellyfish or a Biblical angel.

Jean Jacket is able to hide itself inside clouds, move them, and cause them to precipitate (pour rain and other material). Alternatively, it may be that it assumes the form of clouds instead of entering them, or somehow creates moist fog from its outer skin like a cloak. In either case, it is capable of moving very quickly through the air, and can travel faster than the speed of sound (noted by the repeated sonic booms).

It behaves similarly to a predator, feeding on living beings that look into it. It has limited intelligence, and it can be subjected to luring and "taming".

When Jean Jacket is nearby (within 400 metres), all electricity stops working. It is not known if it has any control or knowledge of this effect. Speculation by fans indicate that Jean Jacket uses a powerful and invisible electromagnetic pulse field that obscures electron flow, which is also responsible for its ability to levitate and move around freely.

Jean Jacket hunts by the use of its ability to form tornadoes from its bottom hole, that sucks up any animal or person that looks directly at it (the visibility of eyes in its direct view are perceived as an instant dinner). The UFO however cannot distinguish the difference between eyes of actual living prey and the ones on printed/drawn inanimate objects, most notably the fake horse, the cowboy balloon at Jupiter's Claim, and the tube man flags.

How Jean Jacket eats prey is subject to debate. However, it is proven that after sucking people or horses into its hole mouth, they enter claustrophobic intestine-like organs of the creature, which also glow in an eerie orange/pink color. Victims scream in terror as the muscles squeeze tightly, crushing the victims as they suffocate and wretch due to the lack of oxygen and digestive acids. Jean Jacket may also kill its prey instantly as soon as the unfortunate gets sucked in its hole mouth, by instantly crushing the prey using its powerful 'intestinal' muscles into a mass of blood and flesh pulp, before digesting it. Any metal and inorganic matter gets regurgitated out at high velocity downwards. Jean Jacket also does not speak at any point in the film, only emitting an ambience of its victims, both human and animal, screaming in agony.