David Koepp

David Koepp (/kɛp/;^[1] born June 9, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. He is the fourth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.97 billion.^[2]

He is known for a variety of screenplays, including those of the Steven Spielberg–directed films Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), War of the Worlds (2005) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Other Koepp screenplays include those for the crime film Carlito's Way (1993); the action spy films Mission: Impossible (1996) and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014); the superhero film Spider-Man (2002); another Indiana Jones film, The Dial of Destiny (2023); and another Jurassic Park film, Jurassic World Rebirth (2025).

Koepp has also directed seven feature films: The Trigger Effect (1996), Stir of Echoes (1999), Secret Window (2004), Ghost Town (2008), Premium Rush (2012), Mortdecai (2015), and You Should Have Left (2020).

Koepp was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, as the youngest of four children to Margaret (Fairfield), a family therapist, and Donald Koepp, who owned a billboard company.^[3][4][5][6]

Originally studying to become an actor, first at the University of Minnesota for one year and afterwards at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for two years, he enrolled in the film school of the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1984.^[3][7][8] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in film from UCLA in 1990.^[9]

As a writer, Koepp worked on blockbuster Hollywood films such as Jurassic Park with Steven Spielberg, Mission: Impossible with Brian De Palma and Spider-Man with Sam Raimi.

Koepp had a cameo appearance as the "Unlucky Bastard", a minor character devoured by a T. rex that roams San Diego in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which he co-wrote and for which he was a second unit director. Although Koepp did not write Jurassic Park III, he did devise the film's basic storyline.^[10][11] Koepp later declined an offer to write a script for the fourth film in the series, Jurassic World, as he felt he had nothing left to contribute to the series.^[12]

Koepp was reportedly paid $4,000,000 for his Panic Room screenplay. He wrote the screenplay for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for Spielberg and George Lucas and co-wrote and directed 2008's Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear.

Koepp's work as a director has not had quite the same box office success. His films include Secret Window, Stir of Echoes, and The Trigger Effect. Koepp has worked in television, creating the 2002 series Hack starring David Morse.

In 2012, Koepp directed Premium Rush, which he co-wrote with John Kamps.^[13] In an August 2011 lawsuit, Joe Quirk, the author of the 1998 novel The Ultimate Rush, accused Koepp and the makers of Premium Rush of copyright infringement.^[14] On April 2, 2013, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg dismissed this case, finding that the two works were not substantially similar.^[15]

On February 17, 2013, Koepp received the WGA East's Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.^[16]

On July 10, 2013, Lionsgate was reported to have acquired the comedic crime novel The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery, written by Kyril Bonfiglioli.^[17] Koepp directed the film, titled Mortdecai, from a script by Eric Aronson;^[18] Johnny Depp played the lead role of Charlie Mortdecai,^[19] and the film also featured Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, and Paul Bettany.^[20] Koepp adapted the Marcus Sakey novel Brilliance, which will star Will Smith and Noomi Rapace.^[21]

On March 15, 2016, The Walt Disney Company announced a fifth installment of the Indiana Jones saga, with Koepp as its screenwriter and Spielberg directing again.^[22][23] By June 2018, Koepp ultimately backed out of the project due to his commitment to You Should Have Left, a horror drama film Koepp wrote and directed.^[24] Based on the novel of the same name by Daniel Kehlmann, You Should Have Left was released in 2020, and stars Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried.^[25][26]

On September 3, 2019, Koepp made his novel debut with the publication of Cold Storage, a science-fiction thriller.^[27] A film adaptation was announced in May 2022 from Studiocanal, with Koepp writing the screenplay and Jonny Campbell directing; the cast consists of Liam Neeson, Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell, and Sosie Bacon.^[28][29]

On December 10, 2020, Amasia Entertainment and Universal Pictures announced Koepp had been tapped to write the script for a reboot of the Green Hornet franchise titled The Green Hornet and Kato.^[30] On February 25, 2021, it was announced Koepp would write and co-produce the thriller Kimi, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Zoë Kravitz.^[31] The film was released on Max (then HBO Max) on February 10, 2022.^[32]

Koepp's second novel Aurora was published on June 7, 2022, and a film adaptation of the book is in development for Netflix, with Koepp writing the script and Kathryn Bigelow directing.^[33]

Koepp wrote the screenplay for the psychological thriller film Presence, which was directed by Soderbergh and premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.^[34] On January 22, 2024, it was announced that Koepp would return to the Jurassic Park franchise by writing Jurassic World Rebirth, with Gareth Edwards directing and Spielberg serving as executive producer.^[35][36] In April 2024, it was confirmed that Koepp and Spielberg would work again on an original film about UFOs,^[37][38] later revealed to be Disclosure Day with a planned June 2026 release.^[39]

Koepp is married to Melissa Thomas, a writer, with whom he has two children.^[40][41] He was previously married to artist Rosario Varela, with whom he has two children.^[3][42]

• — (2019). Cold Storage: A Novel. New York: Ecco. ISBN 978-0-06-291643-3. LCCN 2018057661. OCLC 1078435646.
• — (2022). Aurora: A Novel. New York: Harper. ISBN 978-0-06-291647-1.

• David Koepp at IMDb