10 Directors That Should Get The Chance To Make A Blockbuster Movie

If M. Night Shyamalan and McG can get $150m to make a movie, why can't these guys?

Ben Affleck speaks after receiving an honorary degree at Brown University's 245th commencement in Providence, R.I., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Michael Dwyer/AP

It used to be the case that directors would pay their dues on smaller-budget features, honing their skills and gaining experience, before working their way up the ladder to the studio blockbuster. However, in recent years an increasing amount of filmmakers are taking the plunge right at the beginning of their careers, yielding mixed results so far.

For instance, Carl Rinsch went straight from directing commercials to the $225m 47 Ronin, which turned out to be one of the biggest box office bombs in history, while Marc Webb's jump from his $7.5m debut (500) Days Of Summer to The Amazing Spider-Man saw him struggle under the weight of studio interference. However, Gareth Edwards successfully went from the $500,000 Monsters to Star Wars: Rogue One via the Godzilla reboot, while the jury is still out on how indie talents Colin Trevorrow, Josh Trank, Duncan Jones and Rian Johnson will make the leap to budgets of $150m and above.

With that in mind, this article will rank ten directors who should be next in line to make their blockbuster debuts, and the reasons why they would be able to pull it off. Some of the names are a lot more established than others, but the common theme is that they could all potentially deliver something a lot better than the increasingly-generic slate of studio tent-poles.

10. Zal Batmanglij

Ben Affleck speaks after receiving an honorary degree at Brown University's 245th commencement in Providence, R.I., Sunday, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Fox Searchlight Pictures

Despite having just two features to his name, Zal Batmanglij and collaborator Brit Marling have already established themselves as an up-and-coming duo to keep a close eye on. The director and his star, co-writer and producer have Netflix series The OA debuting next year but from a theatrical standpoint, it is already clear that Batmanglij is destined for bigger things.

Feature debut Sound of My Voice was shot for just $135,000 and offered a tightly scripted, well-acted and engaging psychological thriller armed with some big ideas, directed with a confidence that belied both the budget and Batmanglij's status as a first-time director.

Follow-up The East marked a more accessible effort, with the $6.5m corporate espionage thriller boasting Ridley Scott as producer and a cast again led by Marling that also features Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page and Toby Kebbell. Topical, intelligent and most importantly entertaining, The East demonstrated Batmanglij's ability to craft a mainstream genre movie on an independent budget, with the young director showing that he definitely has the potential to one day take the reins of a big-budget studio project.

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