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Drew Goddard

Drew Goddard

Writer, producer and director · Born February 26, 1975 (51) · Houston, Texas, USA

Oscar nominee · Primetime Emmy nominee · 3 other major award bodies

Andrew Brion Hogan Goddard (born February 26, 1975) is an American filmmaker most closely associated with the horror genre. He began his career writing episodes for the television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Alias, and Lost. After moving into film screenwriting, he wrote Cloverfield (2008), World War Z (2013), and two Andy Weir adaptations: The Martian (2015) and Project Hail Mary (2026). For The Martian, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also directed The Cabin in the Woods (2011) and Bad Times at the El Royale (2018). Goddard created the Netflix series Daredevil (2015–2018), part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He went on to direct several episodes of The Good Place. He served as an executive producer for 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) and The Cloverfield Paradox (2018), instalments in the Cloverfield franchise. Description above from the Wikipedia article Drew Goddard, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 26, 1975 (51)
From
Houston, Texas, USA
Works as
Writer, producer and director
Titles
21 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 27% in 30 days

What are Drew Goddard's films like?

Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 78th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 99th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies
Horror2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 50th percentile
: browse their Horror movies

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

share of theme weight
Bonds
28%
Self
27%
Survival
23%
Morality
15%
Society
4%
Ideas
3%
Survival7 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 2 · Dark 3

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 7

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 3

Full focus: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their full focus movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 5

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
12
Dread
5
Thrilling
4
Contemplative
4
Hopeful
2
Other
8

How their films linger

Bittersweet5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 5 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet5
  • Ambiguous5

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 Drew Goddard's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 20 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Drew Goddard's 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

25 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page.

  • Project Hail Mary(2026)

    Executive Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Phony(2026)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

  • Superman(2025)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • High Potential(2024)

    Show 31 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows

  • Bad Times at the El Royale(2018)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • The Cloverfield Paradox(2018)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • The Defenders(2017)

    Show 8 episodes · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows

  • Baby Driver(2017)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • The Good Place(2016)

    Show 50 episodes · Director · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • 10 Cloverfield Lane(2016)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • The Brothers Grimsby(2016)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • The Martian(2015)

    Executive Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • Daredevil(2015)

    Show 39 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • World War Z(2013)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • The Cabin in the Woods(2011)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 Motion Comic(2010)

    Show Writer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows

  • Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Show 1 episode · as Fake Thomas Jefferson

  • Cloverfield(2008)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Lost(2004)

    Show 23 episodes · Co-Executive Producer · Supervising Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • Alias(2001)

    Show 5 episodes · Writer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • Angel(1999)

    Show 5 episodes · Writer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer(1997)

    Show 22 episodes · Staff Writer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows

  • Nevermoor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer · Writer

  • Pagans (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

  • The Matrix 5 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

Career shape

A full career of 23 titles, 19 of them dated from 1997 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Project Hail Mary (2026)

$684M worldwide

Highest rated

Project Hail Mary (2026)

Midcredits 99th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 23: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting4 of 23: 0 only directing, 4 with another roleWriting16 of 23: 5 only writing, 11 with another role · typical Midcredits score84thProducing13 of 23: 3 only producing, 10 with another role · typical Midcredits score92ndOther crew5 of 23: 3 only other crew, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score85th

23 titles, 11 with more than one role — writing and producing overlap on 10 of them.

By decade

1990s2 · crew2000s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew2010s10 · crew2020s3 · crew

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.

Awards

1 major award from 13 major nominations, 2006–2020.

WinNomination
  1. 2020
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Comedy Series
  2. 2019
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Comedy Series
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy
  3. 2016
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
    • +2 other major bodies · 2 nominations
      • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
  4. 2009
    • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Dramatic Series
    • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
  5. 2008
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Drama Series
    • +2 other major bodies · 2 nominations
      • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Episodic Drama
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
  6. 2007
    • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Dramatic Series
  7. 2006
    • Writers Guild Award, won · Dramatic Series

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Drew Goddard's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of all 11; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 79th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

79thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

99thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Midcredits score across 20 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up15
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

11 of their 20 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser11
  • Broadly Agreed1

Most divisive · writer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 Motion Comic (2010)

78th percentile spread · 21% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer, producer

Project Hail Mary (2026)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 54/100 and the plot and story 52/100 in their films, across 8 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 Drew Goddard's work okay for kids?

Across up to 10 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore10 titles38–86 · median 73 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity10 titles8–47 · median 24 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity10 titles28–64 · median 46 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs10 titles21–55 · median 31 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense10 titles51–84 · median 67 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Drew Goddard work with?

People who share at least 2 of Drew Goddard's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Sarah Esberg shares the most, 3.

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers