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The 21 best directorial debuts of the last decade

The 21 best directorial debuts of the last decade
Olivia Wilde (right) directing "Booksmart."Annapurna
  • There are some incredible talents who've had directorial debuts since 2011.
  • Here are the acclaimed first efforts by Jordan Peele, Bradley Cooper, Olivia Wilde, and more.

Ari Aster ("Hereditary")

Ari Aster ("Hereditary")
"Hereditary."      A24

This twisted tale of a troubled family catapulted Aster into the class of elite horror storytellers.

He has since shown that he's no one-hit-wonder, as his follow up, "Midsommar," starring Florence Pugh, is as equally engaging and chilling as his debut.

We shudder to think what else will come out of his twisted mind to entertain us.

Bo Burnham ("Eighth Grade")

Bo Burnham ("Eighth Grade")
"Eighth Grade."      A24

After gaining notoriety for his YouTube videos and stand-up specials, Burnham took his unique brand of comedy and brought it to the movies with this look at the life of a introvert teen (Elsie Fisher) trying to get through her final week as an eighth grader.

The movie would go on to earn Fisher a Golden Globe nomination and Burnham received a ton of respect in Hollywood.

Since his debut, he's starred in the acclaimed "Promising Young Woman" and directed the Chris Rock Netflix comedy special, "Tamborine."

Ryan Coogler ("Fruitvale Station")

Ryan Coogler ("Fruitvale Station")
"Fruitvale Station."      The Weinstein Company

Retelling one of the saddest moments in his hometown of Oakland, the 2009 death of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan) at the hands of a police officer, Coogler showcases his deeply passionate storytelling skills as he chronicles the final day of Grant's life.

From the acclaim of that movie, Coogler has gone on to become one of the most prolific directors working today. He brought the "Rocky" franchise back from the dead with the movie "Creed" and then made the iconic "Black Panther" for Marvel.

He's also a force as a producer as he was behind the making of Shaka King's "Judas and the Black Messiah."

Bradley Cooper ("A Star is Born")

Bradley Cooper ("A Star is Born")
"A Star is Born."      Warner Bros.

Let's face it, you probably heard Bradley Cooper was directing a movie and just shook your head. We did too!

But he proved his skills behind the camera are first class by taking on a movie that has been remade several times. Starring alongside Lady Gaga, Cooper puts a memorable spin on the story of a young woman's rise to fame.

Along with Cooper's impressive work on screen, it's his attention to the sound and picture as a director that really made the movie become one of the biggest hits when it was released in 2018.

Ava DuVernay ("I Will Follow")

Ava DuVernay ("I Will Follow")
"I Will Follow."      Array

After years finding her way through Hollywood, even forging a respectable PR firm, DuVernay found her true calling when she released her directorial debut in 2011.

The moving story, focused on a grieving young woman (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), proved she had a talent for storytelling.

Since then she's become a force in the industry with movies like "Selma," the documentary "13th," and "A Wrinkle in Time."

Robert Eggers ("The Witch")

Robert Eggers ("The Witch")
"The Witch."      A24

Eggers takes us back to 1630s New England to scare the heck out of us.

Following a young girl (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her family as they are overcome by witchcraft, the attention to detail by Eggers is inspiring.

He has since doubled down on both the authenticity and creepiness of his storytelling with his superb follow-up, "The Lighthouse."

Carlos López Estrada ("Blindspotting")

Carlos López Estrada ("Blindspotting")
"Blindspotting."      Summit Entertainment

Teaming with Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs, who along with starring also wrote the screenplay, Estrada delivers a story that's as funny as it is poignant. It follows a guy (Diggs) trying to change his life as he's about to finish probation and his friend (Casal) who seems oblivious to his efforts.

Filled with rapping interludes and a powerful commentary on gentrification and police violence, Estrada made quite an impression with his debut.

Estrada is changing gears for his follow up, the Disney title "Raya and the Last Dragon."

Alex Garland ("Ex Machina")

Alex Garland ("Ex Machina")
"Ex Machina."      Ex Machine the Movie

After finding acclaim in the 1990s as a novelist, known best for penning "The Beach," Garland moved his sci-fi tastes to the moving image in the 2000s writing screenplays for hits like "28 Days Later" and "Never Let Me Go."

But his talents has elevated even more as he turned to the directing chair for 2014's "Ex Machina," which looks at how an advanced AI (Alicia Vikander) overtakes her creator.

The movie has since become an instant sci-fi classic and Garland has only grown in stature with his follow-up, "Annihilation," starring Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson.

Dan Gilroy ("Nightcrawler")

Dan Gilroy ("Nightcrawler")
"Nightcrawler."      Chuck Ziotnick/Open Road Films

Like Garland, Gilroy found acclaim as a screenwriter before directing his own work.

Teaming with Jake Gyllenhall in the thriller, "Nightcrawler," showed he has no problem directing either. Capturing the life of a conman who finds the perfect moneymaker, selling footage of gruesome accidents and deaths to a local LA news station, Gilroy has become a favorite of hardboiled stories.

Since then, Gilroy has found praise for the Denzel Washington drama, "Roman J. Israel, Esq.," and the Netflix thriller "Velvet Buzzsaw."

Michael Gracey ("The Greatest Showman")

Michael Gracey ("The Greatest Showman")
"The Greatest Showman."      Fox

Gracey was known best for his work in visual effects until he jumped on "The Greatest Showman" and unleashed a beloved dazzling musical.

Along with the talents of Hugh Jackman in the lead as P.T. Barnum, the movie also features astounding visuals and dance numbers.

Gracey will next take on the big screen adaptation of the manga series, "Naruto."

Jonah Hill ("Mid90s")

Jonah Hill ("Mid90s")
"Mid90s."      a24

Jonah Hill wowed audiences with his directing skills and knowledge of skate culture in this touching look at a 13-year-old (Sunny Suljic) who befriends a group of skateboarders to escape his troubled home life.

Hill has since directed music videos and commercials. We patiently wait to see what his next feature effort will be.

Jennifer Kent ("The Babadook")

Jennifer Kent ("The Babadook")
"The Babadook."      Matt Nettheim via Sundance Institute

Kent's fantastic horror movie about a single mother (Essie Davis) and her son (Noah Wiseman) who are terrorized by a monster from a children's book is a masterpiece.

The skill behind Kent's storytelling, how she directs her actors, and the fantastic production design that touches on the whole unease of the story is a joy to watch.

Kent has since continued her creepy style with the 2018 movie "The Nightingale."

Travis Knight ("Kubo and the Two Strings")

Travis Knight ("Kubo and the Two Strings")
"Kubo and the Two Strings."      kubo and the two strings

After a short stint as a rapper and then helping launch the acclaimed stop-motion animation studio, Laika ("ParaNorman," "The Boxtrolls"), Knight took on the directing reigns of the Laika project "Kubo and the Two Strings" and made it a 2-time Oscar nominated movie.

Filled with fantasy and samurai themes, the movie upped Knight's prominence in Hollywood, which led to him making the "Bumblebee" Transformers movie.

Tim Miller ("Deadpool")

Tim Miller ("Deadpool")
"Deadpool."      Fox

After years in development hell, Miller teamed with Ryan Gosling to pull off the unique origin story of this Marvel character. And they hit pay dirt. The movie went on to become a sensation.

Miller, who before "Deadpool" was known best for his visual effects work, left the franchise and went and made "Terminator: Dark Fate." But lightning didn't strike twice as it was yet another bust in the "Terminator" franchise.

However, his work on "Deadpool" is beloved by fans of the character who feel he didn't cut any corners to bring the outlandish character to life.

Jordan Peele ("Get Out")

Jordan Peele ("Get Out")
"Get Out."      Universal

After finding fame in comedy by being a cast member on the sketch show "Mad TV" followed by the successful "Key & Peele," Peele turned to directing and found himself gaining major acclaim for his story about a Black man (Daniel Kaluuya) who visits the family of his white girlfriend (Allison Williams).

"Get Out" would touch on racism unlike any movie had before and turned Peele into an auteur overnight.

He's since made the equally chilling "Us" and is in the works on his third movie.

Boots Riley ("Sorry to Bother You")

Boots Riley ("Sorry to Bother You")
"Sorry to Bother You."      Annapurna

Thanks to the casting of Tessa Thompson and LaKeith Stanfield along with his outlandish script, Riley delivered a comedy in 2018 that is one of the most original we have ever seen.

Set around a guy (Stanfield) who finds a way to become a star at his telemarketer job, the story evolves into this fantastical focus on greed and race that you have to see to believe.

Justin Simien ("Dear White People")

Justin Simien ("Dear White People")
"Dear White People."      Netflix

Simien's powerful debut that made Tessa Thompson a star follows the lives of a group of Black students at an Ivy League college. It was a sensation at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014 as it won the grand prize award.

Simien has since turned the movie into a show for Netflix and made another feature, "Bad Hair."

Currently, Simien is getting together a Lando Calrissian "Star Wars" series.

Chad Stahelski and David Leitch ("John Wick")

Chad Stahelski and David Leitch ("John Wick")
"John Wick."      Lionsgate

After years being prominent stunt performers and doing second unit directing, Stahelski and Leitch teamed with friend Keanu Reeves to make a different kind of action movie. One that mixed martial arts and gun play in a unique way to create the hitman character, John Wick (Reeves).

It proved to be a sensation, as the now popular franchise has launched both directors to the tops in the action genre.

Stahleski has stayed on to direct the "Wick" sequels, while Leitch has made "Atomic Blonde," "Deadpool 2," and "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw."

Dan Trachtenberg ("10 Cloverfield Lane")

Dan Trachtenberg ("10 Cloverfield Lane")
"10 Cloverfield Lane."      Paramount

After years making short films and commercials, Trachtenberg got his big break when he made the horror movie "10 Cloverfield Lane," which no one knew was actually a sequel to the 2008 movie, "Cloverfield."

Set mostly in an underground bomb shelter, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is told that on the surface everyone has been affected by a chemical attack. We watch as she tries to figure out what is actually going on.

The realization of the unique twist (and the fact that the movie is great) instantly turned Trachtenberg into an "it" director.

He has since directed episodes of "The Boys" and "Black Mirror," and he gearing up to do a "Predator" movie.

Olivia Wilde ("Booksmart")

Olivia Wilde ("Booksmart")
"Booksmart."      Annapurna Pictures

After years of building a prominent acting career, Wilde turned to directing with this fantastic coming-of-age story about two friends (Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein) who decide to throw aside their nerdy ways and party hard before graduating high school.

The movie shows Wilde's talents to tell a story and also do it with unique qualities (remember the doll scene?).

She next will be directing the 1950s-set thriller "Don't Worry Darling," starring Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, and Harry Styles. And she's also planning to direct a Marvel movie for Sony.

Behn Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild")

Behn Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild")
"Beasts of the Southern Wild."      YouTube/megatrailer

Zeitlin's debut completely blew away audiences at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the grand prize. It then went on to earn four Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director of Zeitlin.

The story follows a young girl's journey through the "bathtub" (a community cut off from society) in the Louisiana bayou as a storm approaches. Quvenzhané Wallis is fantastic as the girl Hushpuppy and topped by the great casting is the marvelous world Zeitlin sets the story in.

Zeitlin followed that up with the 2020 movie, "Wendy."

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