Jon Watts

Jonathan Watts (born June 28, 1981) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): Homecoming, Far From Home (2019), and No Way Home (2021). He also directed and co-wrote the films Clown (2014), Cop Car (2015), and Wolfs (2024); as well as directing many episodes of the parody television news series Onion News Network. Watts has also directed music videos for electronic music artists such as Fatboy Slim and Swedish House Mafia.

Early life Watts was born on June 28, 1981, and raised in Fountain, Colorado, where he attended Fountain-Fort Carson High School. He studied film at New York University.

Career Watts began his directing career by directing commercials for production company Park Pictures.

Watts' film career started with the short Clay Pride: Being Clay in America. A claymation film, it is a satire of films about gay issues, with the main character, Steve Thompson, coming out as "clay". Over the next decade, Watts would continue to work in short films, as well as directing several music videos for various artists including Fatboy Slim, Death Cab for Cutie, Relient K, Sleigh Bells, Head Automatica, and TV on the Radio. He even directed a few videos that were selected in episodes of Online Nation.

Watts' feature directorial debut was the 2014 horror film, Clown. Watts and his friend Christopher Ford had made a fake trailer for a film about a father turning into a demonic killer clown after trying on an old costume he finds in his basement. After uploading the trailer to YouTube, Watts was approached by Eli Roth with an offer to produce a feature version.

Watts' next film was the 2015 thriller, Cop Car. The film is about two young boys who steal an abandoned police car and are pursued by its murderous owner, a Sheriff played by Kevin Bacon. In an interview, Watts revealed that the idea for the film came from a dream he had when he was a child.

Watts then directed Spider-Man: Homecoming. Watts was so determined to be the director of the film that he admitted that he had "bothered" Marvel by sending them clips of a fake trailer he made for a Spider-Man movie. He admits that he was very surprised and did not know he was going to get the job until the last moment.

Watts directed the film's 2019 sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home. He reportedly became increasingly devoted to the franchise, even starting his own extensive collection of rare spiders.

Watts has also directed Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was released on December 17, 2021, where he also provided the motion-capture for Sandman while Thomas Haden Church reprised the voice of the character from Spider-Man 3. He was confirmed to be directing The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which would be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but exited the project in April 2022. Watts also directed the mid-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, a tie-in to No Way Home, which was released two months earlier on October 1, 2021. The scene was shot during the filming of No Way Home.

In September 2021, it was revealed that Watts would write and direct the thriller film Wolfs starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. He would also produce the project along with the two actors. By the end of the month, the project had been acquired by Apple Studios, and was expected to receive a "robust theatrical release". However, six weeks before the film's release, Apple pivoted the film to a limited release.

In January 2022, Watts and his wife were announced to have joined the sixth installment of the Final Destination series as co-producers. Watts also wrote a film treatment as well, adapted by Lori Evans Taylor and Guy Busick.

In May 2022, it was revealed that Watts would create and executive produce an Amblin inspired Star Wars TV series for Disney+ that is set after the events of Return of the Jedi. This series was soon revealed as Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which premiered in 2024. Watts received the Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Young Teen Series for his work on the series.

In September 2024, Watts and his wife McGunigle, along with their production company Freshman Year, signed a first-look feature deal with Walt Disney Studios. Under the deal, Watts will direct feature-length projects for Disney live-action and 20th Century Studios with the option to produce.

Personal life Watts is married to former talent agent and producer Dianne McGunigle.

Filmography Film + Year TitleDirectorWriterProducer Notes 2014 Clown 2015 Cop Car 2017 Spider-Man: Homecoming 2019 Spider-Man: Far From Home 2021 Spider-Man: No Way Home Also provided the motion-capture of Sandman

Television Year TitleDirector ProducerWriter Notes 2011 Onion News Network Directed 10 episodes The Fuzz TV pilot 2012 Eugene! TV movie 2022 The Old Man Directed episodes "I" and "II" 2024–2025 Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Showrunner and creatorDirected 2 episodesWritten 6 episodes

Music videos Year Title Artist Notes 2004 "Stepping Off" Jason Forrest "Wonderful Night" Fatboy Slim "The Joker" "We Live on Your Street" The Willowz "Beating Heart Baby" Head Automatica "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" Relient K "Into Your Eyes" Armand van Helden "Oh, Mandy" The Spinto Band co-directed with Sean Donnelly "White Daisy Passing" Rocky Votolato "Pressure Suit" Aqualung "The Beauty in Ugly" Jason Mraz 2008 "Dust" Royworld 2009 "Candle (Sick and Tired)" The White Tie Affair 2010 "Young Girl" Dawn Landes "Brand New Day" Joshua Radin "Destroy" The Japanese Popstars ft. Jon Spencer 2011 "Rill Rill" Sleigh Bells "Save the World" Swedish House Mafia

Commercials Year Title Brand Notes 2004 "Magic Trick" Frosted Flakes "Breaking News" The New York Times 2006 "Lazybone" 24 Hour Fitness "Reflection" "Training" 2007 "Tonguezilla" Sprite "Diner" "Elevator" "Garfield Clock" eBay 2008 "Green Flag" ESPN / NASCAR "The Duel" "Neighborhood" Sci-Fi / Eureka "Darkmane" ESPN / X Games 2009 "7 Second Demos" Windows 7 2010 "Alien Field Trip" Lunchables "In the Loop" Nokia 2011 "Wrong Decisions" Coldwell Banker "Cooking Show" Philadelphia 2012 "5 Cents" MetLife "Hold Music" 2013 "Never Change" Sprint 2014 "Teachers" Jacob's "Park" "Rally" 2017 "Sea of Chaos" Clash Royale