Derek Connolly (born c. 1976) is an American screenwriter and film producer. He is best known for his collaborations with filmmaker Colin Trevorrow. He has written the films Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), Jurassic World (2015) and its sequels Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022), Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Detective Pikachu (2019). He also co-wrote the unproduced original draft of Star Wars: Duel of the Fates, which became Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Description above from the Wikipedia article Derek Connolly, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- Miami, Florida, USA
- Writer, also producer
- 10 on MovieCove · 14 credits in all
Known for
What are Derek Connolly's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.
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 0 · Earnest 7
Light 5 · Serious 1 · Dark 1
Grounded 1 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2
Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 3
Steady 2 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 1
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 3
Casual 1 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 0
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous2
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 Derek Connolly's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Derek Connolly'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
14 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.
The Legend of Zelda (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)
Deep Cover(2025)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Jurassic World: Dominion(2022)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Kong: Skull Island(2017)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Monster Trucks(2016)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
The 4th(2016)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
Jurassic World(2015)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Safety Not Guaranteed(2012)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Gary: Under Crisis (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Eternal Champions (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Transformers/G.I. Joe Crossover Movie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 14 titles, 11 of them dated from 2005 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Jurassic World (2015)
Highest rated
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
Most popular right now
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
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
3 major awards from 4 major nominations, 2012–2026.
- Writers Guild Award, won · TV & Streaming Motion Pictures
- Independent Spirit Award, won · Best First Screenplay
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
- Sundance award, won
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 Derek Connolly's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 57th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th5
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the dialogue 48/100 and the plot and story 37/100 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 Derek Connolly's work okay for kids?
Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run heavier than most films and sex & nudity lighter.
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 Derek Connolly work with?
People who share at least 2 of Derek Connolly's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Colin Trevorrow shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Colin TrevorrowShared titles: Deep Cover (2025), Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World (2015), Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)See all 5 shared titles with Colin Trevorrow
Actors
- Bryce Dallas HowardShared titles: Deep Cover (2025), Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World (2015)See all 4 shared titles with Bryce Dallas Howard
- BD WongShared titles: Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World (2015)See all 3 shared titles with BD Wong
- Chris PrattShared titles: Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Chris Pratt
- Jeff GoldblumShared titles: Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Jeff Goldblum
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Michael GiacchinoShared titles: Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Michael Giacchino
- John SchwartzmanShared titles: Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Jurassic World (2015)See all 2 shared titles with John Schwartzman
- Mark SangerShared titles: Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Mark Sanger
Producers
- Frank MarshallShared titles: Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Frank Marshall
- Patrick CrowleyShared titles: Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Patrick Crowley
- Annys HamiltonShared titles: Deep Cover (2025), Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Annys Hamilton
- Cale BoyterShared titles: Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019), Monster Trucks (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Cale Boyter
