Akela Cooper is an American screenwriter and television producer. She is notable as the screenwriter of horror films, such as '' Hell Fest'' (2018), '' Malignant'' (2021), '' M3GAN'' (2022), '' The Nun 2'' (2023), and '' M3GAN 2.0'' (2025). Cooper was named to '' Variety''s 10 Screenwriters to Watch for 2021 list.

Early life and education

Cooper was raised in Hayti, Missouri. She graduated from Truman State University with a degree in creative writing in 2003 and received her MFA from the USC School of Cinema-Television, where she was the first recipient of the NAACP/CBS Writer's Fellowship.

Career

Cooper was a staff writer for ''Grimm'' for two seasons and went on to be a writer and co-producer for ''

The 100 The 100 may refer to: Arts and entertainment * 100 (DC Comics), fictional organized crime groups appearing in DC Comics * ''The 100'' (novel series), a 2013–2016 science fiction novel series written by Kass Morgan * ''The 100'' (TV series), 20 ...

'', '' American Horror Story'', '' Luke Cage'', ''Jupiter's Legacy'', '' Witches of East End'', and ''Chambers''. She wrote the horror film '' Malignant'', released in September 2021. She is the screenwriter of the upcoming sequel to the horror film '' The Nun'', as well as the 2023 horror film '' M3GAN'' and its sequel. Cooper was announced as the showrunner for the upcoming HBO Max television adaptation of the novel ''Monster'' by

A. Lee Martinez A. Lee Martinez (born January 12, 1973) is an American fantasy and science fiction author. He has been a member of the DFW Writers' Workshop since 1995. He currently resides in Terrell, Texas. Biography A. Lee Martinez was born in El Paso, Te ...

Filmography

Film writer * '' Hell Fest'' (2018) * '' Malignant'' (2021) * '' M3GAN'' (2023) * '' The Nun 2'' (2023) * '' M3GAN 2.0'' (2025) Television

Awards and nominations

* 2017 – Nominee,

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series (for '' Luke Cage)'' * 2017 – Nominee, Black Reel Award for Outstanding Drama Series (for ''Luke Cage'')

References

External links

Akela Cooper
on Twitter * Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American screenwriters African-American women writers Screenwriters from Missouri University of Southern California alumni American horror writers American women film producers USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni People from Hayti, Missouri Television producers from Missouri 21st-century American women writers Truman State University alumni 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American screenwriters Women horror writers {{US-screen-writer-stub