Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are holding space for the lyrics of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity.” Paul Mescal is calling himself “Daddy” on Saturday Night Live. But somehow, comedian Kyle Mooney might be having the most iconic press tour of the year.

As director of the new disaster comedy film Y2K, Mooney is now far outside of the “bubble” he previously happily resided in. In the weeks leading up to the movie release, he made an appearance in Sabrina Carpenter’s “Nonsense Christmas” special, a surprise return to SNL and has connected with his Gen Z audience through BuzzFeed interviews, TikTok collaborations and college screenings of his film.

During the real Y2K — the high-stress New Year’s Eve before the year 2000 — Mooney was a freshman in highschool. He recalled watching the annual MTV special while his mother stocked their home with water jugs and granola in an effort to prepare for the worst case scenario — a technological apocalypse.

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Outside this coming-of-age experience, the triggering moment that led to the creation of Mooney’s feature directorial debut happened the morning after a 2019 New Year’s party he attended. He wanted to reimagine a world in which his mother’s worst case scenario actually did happen.

“I was maybe a little obsessed with Y2K because it was so much of a let down,” Mooney said during a roundtable hosted by A24, the film’s production company.

In Y2K, a high school house party quickly goes downhill when devices become sentient and hungry for blood. Mooney said that he and creative partner Evan Winter were excited about the idea of making a movie that the two of them would have seen in theaters growing up.

As both the director and a supporting actor, Mooney’s awkward-guy charm is written all over the film. The SNL alum shared that the two kind-hearted, socially awkward characters Eli, played by Jaeden Martell, and CJ, played by Daniel Zolghadri, most resonated with his real high school self.

Y2K grew into a recurring thread in Mooney’s life. When he was in college in the early 2000s, it was popular to have “over the top” ’80s themed parties. On set, he saw Martell dressed in big pants that resembled the JNCO jeans of the Y2K aesthetic.

“That’s not what I was wearing in 1999,” Mooney said. “[Whenever] fashion comes back from decades earlier, you never really get just the subtle dress, you get the big flamboyant looks.”

Mooney said he’s “unfortunately swimming in a pool of barf of 90s references,” which is reflected in the film. Y2K is littered with nostalgic easter eggs — from the on-the-nose soundtrack and costumes to the purposefully cringey humor — that can be enjoyed by any age.

The director said that while he’s aware Y2K-inspired fashion and trends are back in the cultural zeitgeist, he is not “incredibly cool or hip or aware” of current crazes surrounding the era.

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To Mooney’s surprise, there’s an overwhelming amount of praise from a younger generation of fans, something he doesn’t hear all the time.

“I actually could get emotional if I think about it,” Mooney said. “It’s been really special meeting people, especially young people … if you can relate to it and if there’s any universality to it, that means a ton.”

The ideas of discovering yourself and treating others with respect are touching in a way that is unexpected for a comedy — even if the film leans into scientific fiction and horror.

“It’s so easy to forget that all of us are human,” Mooney said. “Let’s try to open our eyes and be kind when we can.”