Joseph Kosinski (born May 3, 1974) is an American film director. He directed the films '' Tron: Legacy'' (2010), '' Oblivion'' (2013), '' Only the Brave'' (2017), '' Top Gun: Maverick'' (2022), '' Spiderhead'' (2022), and '' F1'' (2025). His previous work in

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images and art with the aid of computers. Computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, digital art, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. ...

and

computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...

(CGI) was primarily with CGI-related television commercials including the "Starry Night" commercial for '' Halo 3'' and the award-winning "Mad World" commercial for ''

Gears of War ''Gears of War'' (also referred to as ''Gears'') is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition (company), The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The ...

''.

Life and career

Kosinski grew up in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in Marshall County, Iowa, and is the county seat of the county. With a population of 27,591 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the 16th largest city in the state. Marshalltown is home to the Iowa Vetera ...

, the son of Patricia (née Provost) of French-Canadian (

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

) descent, and Joel Kosinski, a doctor of Polish descent. After graduating from

Marshalltown High School Marshalltown High School (MHS) is public high school located in Marshalltown, Iowa and is home to 1,600 students in grades 9–12. It is a part of the Marshalltown Community School District. The district, and therefore the high school, serves ...

in 1992, he studied mechanical engineering at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and architecture at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. His first major film was the special effects-heavy '' Tron: Legacy''. The film was in Disney Digital 3-D and

IMAX 3D IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating, with ...

, with a release of December 2010 and grossed $400 million worldwide. After moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2005, he began writing a

film treatment A film treatment (or simply treatment) is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed ...

which would eventually develop into an unpublished

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

by the title ''Oblivion'' for Radical Comics. In August 2010,

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...

acquired the rights to the work.

William Monahan William J. Monahan (born November 3, 1960) is an American screenwriter and novelist. His second produced screenplay ''The Departed'' (2006), an adaptation of Andrew Lau's 2002 gangster film ''Infernal Affairs'', earned him a Writers Guild of Am ...

worked on the screenplay for a film adaptation. In March 2011, it was reported that Karl Gajdusek would rewrite the screenplay. Attempts to keep the film with a PG rating were unsuccessful, leading to Disney giving up the rights which were acquired by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, and agreed to a PG-13 rating. The $120-million-budgeted '' Oblivion'' began filming in March 2012, with

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...

in the lead role, and was released in April 2013 to mixed reviews and grossed $286 million worldwide. Top Gun Maveric Global Premiere May 2022

In 2017, he directed '' Only the Brave'', originally titled ''Granite Mountain'', based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots (wildland firefighters). In June 2017, it was announced he was set to direct the sequel to ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...

'', titled '' Top Gun: Maverick'', reuniting with ''Oblivion'' star Tom Cruise. The film was released in theatres on May 27, 2022, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and grossed $1.496 billion worldwide, becoming Cruise's highest-grossing film at the box office. Kosinski is also directing a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

racing film named '' F1,'' reteaming with ''Top Gun: Maverick'' producer Jerry Bruckheimer and screenwriter Ehren Kruger, with racing driver

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...

also serving as producer. The project, acquired by Apple Studios in June 2022, stars

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

and will receive an exclusive theatrical run "of at least 30 days" starting internationally on June 25, 2025, and in North America on June 27, 2025, before streaming on

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

. On February 18, 2025, it was announced that Kosinski and Bruckheimer would reunite on an untitled conspiracy thriller film centred around UFOs, with Zach Baylin writing the screenplay. On March 24, it was announced that the project had been acquired by Apple Studios. In April 2025, it was announced that Kosinski would direct a ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

'' film with a script by Dan Gilroy. This film would be developed after his upcoming UFO conspiracy thriller. It will be a reboot of the ''Miami Vice'' franchise following the original television series and 2006 film.

Unrealized projects

Kosinski has been attached to several as-of-now-unmade projects, including remakes of '70s science-fiction films '' Logan's Run'' and '' The Black Hole'', the science-fiction film ''Archangels'', an untitled action-thriller from ''Halt and Catch Fire'' writers Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers, and ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

''. Kosinski was confirmed to direct the third ''Tron'' film in March 2015, but in May of the same year it was announced that Disney had canceled the project. Kosinski also signed on to direct a film adaptation of the '' Gran Turismo'' video game series for

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

in March 2015, but in February 2018, it was reported the project was no longer moving forward. The project would eventually be directed by

Neill Blomkamp Neill Blomkamp (; born 17 September 1979) is a South African and Canadian film director and screenwriter. He is known as the co-writer and director of the science fiction action film ''District 9'' (2009), for which he was nominated for the Aca ...

and released in theatres on August 25, 2023. In June 2020, he was hired to direct the reboot of ''

Twister Twister most commonly refers to a tornado. Twister or Twisters may also refer to: Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paragli ...

'' for Universal Pictures, the original film's international distributor, but in October 2022, Kosinski stepped down after the project was repurposed into a legacy-sequel, '' Twisters'', and replaced by Lee Isaac Chung as director; Kosinski was ultimately credited for the film's story.

Academia

Kosinski is an alumnus of

Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation The Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) is the architecture school of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. It is also home to the Masters of Science program in Advanced Architect ...

(GSAPP), and was an adjunct assistant professor of architecture helping students in 3D modeling and graphics. In 2008, he spoke in detail about his education in architecture, pushing the technological envelope in commercials and his eventual progression to feature films.

Awards

*2007 AICP Show – Best Visual Effects for the ''

'' commercial "Mad World" – Nominated *AICP Best Visual Effects Award for his

Assassin's Creed ''Assassin's Creed'' is a historical fiction, historical action-adventure video game series and media franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil (game engine), Anvil and its m ...

"Unity" and Destiny "Become Legend" commercials – Nominated * Saturn Award for Best Film Director for '' Top Gun: Maverick'' – Nominated * Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing for '' Top Gun: Maverick'' – Nominated

Filmography

Feature film

Short film

Music video

*" Hold My Hand" –

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

(2022)

Commercials

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

– ''Touch'' (2004) *''

'' – ''Mad World'' (2006) *'' Halo 3'' – ''Starry Night'' (2007) * Saab Aero-X – ''Blackbird'' (2007) *

Hummer Hummer (stylized in all caps) is an American brand of Pickup truck, pickups launched in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a model under GMC (automob ...

– ''Selector'' (2007) *

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

– ''Baby'' (2008) *'' Halo 4'' – ''Awakening'' (2011) *'' Assassin's Creed Unity'' – ''Unity'' (2014) *''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

'' – ''Become Legend'' (2014) *''

'' – ''Evil's Most Wanted'' (2015) *'' Doom'' – cinematic trailer (2016) *

Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...

– ''Web of Fries'' (2018) * BMW i7 M70 – ''The Calm'' (2023) *

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

– ''Who Are You Coco Mademoiselle?'' (2023)

References

External links

Personal website
including professional reel * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosinski, Joseph Living people Skydance Media people Film directors from Iowa People from Marshalltown, Iowa Screenwriters from Iowa Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation faculty American male screenwriters American people of Polish descent English-language film directors Television commercial directors American action film directors American science fiction film directors 1974 births