In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo rewinds to a pre-digital apocalypse while chatting with Kyle Mooney about his upcoming film, “Y2K.” The comedy follows two high school outcasts determined to crash the biggest New Year’s Eve party of their lives on December 31, 1999 – the dreaded eve of Y2K. When the clock strikes midnight, the night spins wildly out of control in ways they never expected. Written and directed by Mooney (“Saturday Night Live,” “Brigsby Bear”), the movie stars Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Fred Durst, Julian Dennison, Kyle Mooney and more.
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2025
During the podcast, Mooney shared how his long-standing fascination with the Y2K phenomenon and teenage nostalgia led to the creation of “Y2K.” The idea struck him on New Year’s Day in 2019.
“I think I’ve just always been sort of minorly obsessed with Y2K and the fact that it was such a kind of letdown and that nothing happened. And it just always sort of stuck in my brain,” Mooney explained. “All of a sudden, the idea popped in my head:’ Oh, there should be a movie about teenagers going to a high school party, and Y2K actually happens. And it’s these machines and monsters!’”
READ MORE: 17 Must-Watch December Films: ‘Nosferatu,’ ‘The Brutalist,’ ‘A Complete Unknown’ & More
He immediately texted his co-writer and close collaborator Evan Winter, and within a week, the pair had sketched out the building blocks of the film. To authentically recreate 1999, Mooney immersed himself in research and leaned into his love for nostalgia.
“I love going through YouTube videos [from 1999]. You know, I eBayed yearbooks from the era. I watched video yearbooks on YouTube of the era. I took screen grabs of what people were wearing,” he shared. “For something like this, there will always be clearances and stuff you can or cannot get away with. But I feel like everything we got fits perfectly.”
Interestingly, none of the film’s young leads were alive in 1999, presenting a unique challenge for Mooney – to explain or not explain the era.
“From our main heroes, I think no one [was alive in’ 99]. We sent them playlists. We gave them lists of movies to watch. They asked questions. It was kind of on them, how much they wanted to invest in learning about the time period,” he said. Mooney added that while the characters reflected Y2K archetypes, they were intentionally written to feel “universal and timeless.”
Mooney also spoke about the film’s tone and influence, balancing heartfelt nostalgia with absurdity.
“We wanted it to feel like exactly what you’re saying, like ‘Can’t Hardly Wait’ or ‘She’s All That,’ or even ‘Superbad.’ But we also wanted it to feel earnest and grounded—like it was our lives in 1999,” Mooney explained. He encouraged the cast to approach their roles honestly, weaving in period-accurate slang and references wherever possible.
One standout element of the film is its commitment to practical effects, particularly the Y2K-era monsters and robots.
“We tried to do as much practical as possible. There’s definitely some CG stuff in there. But yeah, the main robots are all, these are like dudes in suits,” Mooney said, crediting Weta Workshop for designing the animatronics. “It was something that I think, from the moment we started talking about the movie, was exciting to us because we wanted it to feel like a movie we would have seen in the era. There’s something tangible and awesome about having those guys on set and seeing what you’re actually reacting to.”
Support independent movie journalism to keep it alive. Sign up for The Playlist Newsletter. All the content you want and, oh, right, it’s free.
A surprising but perfect addition to the cast is Fred Durst, frontman of Limp Bizkit, not only playing a key role in the movie but practically stealing the movie outright. But who would they have cast if he said no?
“The part was always Fred,” Mooney revealed. “I think within a week of pitching the general concept of the movie, there was a pitch of like, ‘Oh, it would be fun if Fred Durst was in the movie and he helped our heroes.’ And over the course of writing it, we probably pitched some other ideas, but he was always the first person we went out to.”
Durst not only agreed but embraced the role fully, even entertaining the cast and crew with stories from his time as a superstar.
“He is a very funny guy,” Mooney said. “And he talked a lot about that on set. It was more like the fun of being off-set and hearing his stories from the era…getting little glimpses of what life was like when you’re a superstar in the late nineties.”
“Y2K” hits theaters on December 6. You can listen to the full interview with Kyle Mooney on this week’s episode of The Discourse below:
The Discourse is part of The Playlist Podcast Network, which includes The Playlist Podcast, Deep Focus, Bingeworthy, and more. We can be heard on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and most places where podcasts are found. Be sure to subscribe and leave a comment or rating—we greatly appreciate your support!
The Playlist Presents – Kyle Mooney’s Film/TV Recommendation Playlist:
- “Rap World” (2024) – Written and Directed by Connor O’Malley & Danny Scharar
- “American High” (2000) – Created By R. J. Cutler
- “Talk to Me” (2023) – Written and Directed by Danny & Michael Phillippou