David Koepp

David Koepp (; born June 9, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. As of February 2026, he is the fourth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.97 billion.

Koepp is known for a variety of screenplays, including those of the Steven Spielberg–directed films Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), War of the Worlds (2005), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and Disclosure Day (2026). Other Koepp screenplays include those for the crime film Carlito's Way (1993); the action spy films Mission: Impossible (1996) and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014); the superhero film Spider-Man (2002); another Indiana Jones film, The Dial of Destiny (2023); and another Jurassic Park film, Jurassic World Rebirth (2025).

Koepp has also directed seven feature films: The Trigger Effect (1996), Stir of Echoes (1999), Secret Window (2004), Ghost Town (2008), Premium Rush (2012), Mortdecai (2015), and You Should Have Left (2020).

Early life Koepp was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, as the youngest of four children to Margaret (Fairfield), a family therapist, and Donald Koepp, who owned a billboard company.

Originally studying to become an actor, first at the University of Minnesota for one year and afterwards at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for two years, he enrolled in the film school of the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1984. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in film from UCLA in 1990.

Career 1990s and 2000s As a writer, Koepp worked on blockbuster Hollywood films such as Jurassic Park with Steven Spielberg, Mission: Impossible with Brian De Palma and Spider-Man with Sam Raimi.

Koepp had a cameo appearance as the "Unlucky Bastard", a minor character devoured by a T. rex that roams San Diego in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which he co-wrote and for which he was a second unit director. Although Koepp did not write Jurassic Park III, he did devise the film's basic storyline. Koepp later declined an offer to write a script for the fourth film in the series, Jurassic World, as he felt he had nothing left to contribute to the series.

Koepp was reportedly paid $4,000,000 for his Panic Room screenplay. He wrote the screenplay for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for Spielberg and George Lucas and co-wrote and directed 2008's Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear.

Koepp's work as a director has not had quite the same box office success. His films include Secret Window, Stir of Echoes, and The Trigger Effect. Koepp has worked in television, creating the 2002 series Hack starring David Morse.

2010s In 2012, Koepp directed Premium Rush, which he co-wrote with John Kamps. In an August 2011 lawsuit, Joe Quirk, the author of the 1998 novel The Ultimate Rush, accused Koepp and the makers of Premium Rush of copyright infringement. On April 2, 2013, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg dismissed this case, finding that the two works were not substantially similar.

On February 17, 2013, Koepp received the WGA East's Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.

On July 10, 2013, Lionsgate was reported to have acquired the comedic crime novel The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery, written by Kyril Bonfiglioli. Koepp directed the film, titled Mortdecai, from a script by Eric Aronson. Johnny Depp played the lead role of Charlie Mortdecai, and the film also featured Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, and Paul Bettany. Koepp adapted the Marcus Sakey novel Brilliance, which will star Will Smith and Noomi Rapace.

On March 15, 2016, The Walt Disney Company announced a fifth installment of the Indiana Jones saga, with Koepp as its screenwriter and Spielberg directing again. By June 2018, Koepp ultimately backed out of the project due to his commitment to You Should Have Left, a horror drama film Koepp wrote and directed. Based on the novel of the same name by Daniel Kehlmann, You Should Have Left was released in 2020, and stars Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried.

On September 3, 2019, Koepp made his novel debut with the publication of Cold Storage, a science-fiction thriller. A film adaptation was announced in May 2022 from Studiocanal, with Koepp writing the screenplay and Jonny Campbell directing; the cast consists of Liam Neeson, Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell, and Sosie Bacon.

2020s On December 10, 2020, Amasia Entertainment and Universal Pictures announced Koepp had been tapped to write the script for a reboot of the Green Hornet franchise titled The Green Hornet and Kato. On February 25, 2021, it was announced Koepp would write and co-produce the thriller Kimi, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Zoë Kravitz. The film was released on Max (then HBO Max) on February 10, 2022.

Koepp's second novel Aurora was published on June 7, 2022, and a film adaptation of the book is in development for Netflix, with Koepp writing the script and Kathryn Bigelow directing.

Koepp wrote the screenplay for the psychological thriller film Presence, which was directed by Soderbergh and premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Koepp would reunite with Soderbergh on spy film Black Bag, which was released in theatres on March 14, 2025 by Focus Features. On January 22, 2024, it was announced that Koepp would return to the Jurassic Park franchise by writing Jurassic World Rebirth, with Gareth Edwards directing and Spielberg serving as executive producer. In April 2024, it was confirmed that Koepp and Spielberg would work again on an original film about UFOs, later revealed to be titled Disclosure Day with a planned June 2026 release.

Personal life Koepp was married to artist Rosario Varela, with whom he has two children. After they divorced, Koepp married writer Melissa Thomas, with whom he also has two children.

Filmography Film

+ Koepp's film credits Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 1988 Apartment Zero Wrote with Martin Donovan 1990 Bad Influence Why Me? I Come in Peace 1991 Toy Soldiers Wrote with Daniel Petrie Jr. 1992 Death Becomes Her Wrote with Martin Donovan 1993 Jurassic Park Wrote with Michael Crichton Carlito's Way 1994 The Paper Wrote with Stephen Koepp The Shadow Suspicious Short film 1996 Mission: Impossible Wrote with Robert Towne and Steven Zaillian The Trigger Effect 1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Also second unit director and cameo 1998 Snake Eyes Wrote with Brian De Palma 1999 Stir of Echoes 2002 Panic Room Spider-Man 2004 Secret Window 2005 War of the Worlds Wrote with Josh Friedman Zathura: A Space Adventure Wrote with John Kamps 2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Wrote with George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson Ghost Town Wrote with John Kamps 2009 Angels & Demons Wrote with Akiva Goldsman 2011 The Little Engine That Could Wrote with John Kamps, Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser 2012 Premium Rush Wrote with John Kamps 2014 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Wrote with Adam Cozad 2015 Mortdecai 2016 Inferno 2017 The Mummy Wrote with Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman 2020 You Should Have Left 2022 Kimi 2023 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Wrote with Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and James Mangold 2024 Presence 2025 Black Bag Jurassic World Rebirth 2026 Cold Storage Based on his novel Disclosure Day story by Spielberg

Television + Koepp's television credits Year Title Director Writer Notes 2002 Hack Creator 2003 Suspense TV movie

Unproduced scripts Year Title Notes 1987 FatCity Upside Down 1990 Here and There 1997 Blackwater co-wrote with Brian De Palma 1998 Mr. Hughes 1999 The Sea-Wolf 2000 The Superconducting Supercollider of Sparkle Creek, Wisconsin co-wrote with John Kamps 2001 A Trip Uptown 2002 Amazing Spider-Man 2006 The Taking of Pelham 123 Co-wrote with Peter Stone 2009 Billionaire's Vinegar co-wrote with John Kamps Article II 2011 Spy vs. Spy co-wrote with John Kamps The Thin Man 2012 The Wind 2014 Brilliance 2015 The Themis Files 2017 Bride of Frankenstein 2018 Blackhawk 2020 Green Hornet and Kato 2022 Aurora based on his novel 2026 Westworld