Dan Harris (born August 29, 1979) is an American screenwriter and director best known for working with Michael Dougherty and Bryan Singer, and whose writing credits include Superman Returns, X2, and X-Men: Apocalypse. Harris was raised in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He went to Wyoming Valley West Middle and High Schools and graduated from Wyoming Seminary. Before he received his bachelor's degree from Columbia University, Harris's short film Urban Chaos Theory won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the NoDance Film Festival, and the following winter, his short film, "The Killing of Candice Klein," played at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Harris made his feature film directing debut with Imaginary Heroes, starring Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Daniels, Emile Hirsch, and Michelle Williams. The film had its world premiere at the 29th Toronto International Film Festival and opened Winter 2005 after being given special recognition for excellence in filmmaking from the National Board of Review. In addition to Superman Returns, Harris and his writing partner Michael Dougherty have co-written many films, including Urban Legends: Bloody Mary and X2, which he wrote at the age of 22 for director Bryan Singer, an assignment offered to him after the director read the screenplay for Imaginary Heroes. In the same year, he was honoured as one of Variety’s top 10 screenwriters to watch. Harris directed I, Lucifer, a film based on the novel, which he adapted with Michael Dougherty. Harris and Dougherty opted out of writing the upcoming Superman sequel. Harris co-wrote X-Men: Apocalypse with Singer, Dougherty, and Simon Kinberg. Also with Dougherty and Singer, Harris wrote the Superman Returns prequel comic books for DC Comics. Harris' photography has twice been published by New York fashion and arts landmark Visionaire, and he was part of Vanity Fair's "Hollywood Portfolio" in 2005. Description above from the Wikipedia article Dan Harris, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 29, 1979 (47)
- Kingston, Pennsylvania, USA
- Writer, producer and director
- 11 on MovieCove · 13 credits in all
What are Dan Harris' films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 6
Light 0 · Serious 5 · Dark 2
A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2
Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 2
Steady 2 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 1
Casual 3 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 1
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet4
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Dan Harris' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Dan Harris' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
13 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Speech & Debate(2017)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
X-Men: Apocalypse(2016)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Trick 'r Treat(2007)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all filmsRubberheart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Until Death(2007)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
The Pumpkin Karver(2006)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Superman Returns(2006)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Imaginary Heroes(2004)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
X2: X-Men United(2003)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Fish Don't Blink(2002)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all filmsThe Unbreakable Likeness of Lincoln (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Speedway Junky(1999)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 13 titles from 1999 to 2017.
Biggest box office
X2: X-Men United (2003)
Highest rated
X2: X-Men United (2003)
Most popular right now
Trick 'r Treat (2007)
Film career
- 2006Screen debut· The Pumpkin Karver
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Dan Harris' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 41st percentile, the median of all 11; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 42nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 11 titles are Mixed.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the dialogue 49/100 and the plot and story 41/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Dan Harris' work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Dan Harris work with?
People who share at least 2 of Dan Harris' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Michael Dougherty shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Bryan SingerShared titles: Trick 'r Treat (2007), Superman Returns (2006), X2: X-Men United (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Bryan Singer
Writers
- Michael DoughertyShared titles: Trick 'r Treat (2007), Superman Returns (2006), Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005), X2: X-Men United (2003)See all 4 shared titles with Michael Dougherty
Actors
- Kal PennShared titles: Speech & Debate (2017), Superman Returns (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Kal Penn
- Brian CoxShared titles: Trick 'r Treat (2007), X2: X-Men United (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Brian Cox
- James MarsdenShared titles: Superman Returns (2006), X2: X-Men United (2003)See all 2 shared titles with James Marsden
Composers and cinematographers
- Deborah LurieShared titles: Speech & Debate (2017), Imaginary Heroes (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Deborah Lurie
- John OttmanShared titles: Superman Returns (2006), X2: X-Men United (2003)See all 2 shared titles with John Ottman
- Newton Thomas SigelShared titles: Superman Returns (2006), X2: X-Men United (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Newton Thomas Sigel
Producers
- Frank HübnerShared titles: Until Death (2007), Imaginary Heroes (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Frank Hübner
- Illana DiamantShared titles: Until Death (2007), Imaginary Heroes (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Illana Diamant
- Moshe DiamantShared titles: Until Death (2007), Imaginary Heroes (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Moshe Diamant
- René BessonShared titles: Until Death (2007), Imaginary Heroes (2004)See all 2 shared titles with René Besson
