The 20th century came and went, and the door remained open to new contenders to make a name for themselves. The bar set by the golden age of Hollywood was very high, and big names like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, James Cameron, and John Carpenter—among many others—had already made some of the most iconic films of all time. Creative minds in the 21st century had some big shoes to fill.
In a time when studios rarely take chances with new IPs and audiences' experience is dictated by sequels, remakes, reboots, and adaptions of foreign films for the American market, it's challenging to find something that stands out on its own merits. Yet, the most compelling stories ever told in cinema have been produced in the first 23 years of the 21st century by some of the most creative minds in the business. Though many of these directors took their first steps in the late 90s, it was the new century when they got to blossom and do some of their best work. The filmmakers listed below have redefined the art of filmmaking by creating some of the most captivating, thought-provoking, and visually stunning films in history.
Update January 29, 2024: This article has been updated with even more great filmmakers of the 21st century, as well as recent developments on some of these directors' latest movies.
15 Edgar Wright
The mastermind behind the Cornetto Trilogy, Edgar Wright, is a self-confessed film fanatic and has put his encyclopedic knowledge of film to superb use when it comes to both screenwriting and directing. The filmmaker started out making the Western spoof A Fistful of Fingers before producing, perhaps, his most seminal work in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz in 2004 and 2007, respectively. He has since gone on to make classics like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Baby Driver. Recently, he stretched his creativity by stepping into the horror genre with Last Night in Soho.
What Makes Him One of the Best of the 21st Century
Wright has grown from a cult favorite director from the UK known for niche comedy genre mashups to being a mainstream force to be reckoned with. He is a filmmaker of such unique vision and creativity that he backed out of making his passion project, Ant-Man, when it was clear Marvel didn't want to make an Edgar Wright movie. Baby Driver was his biggest box office hit, and his Cornetto trilogy and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World are cult classics that have also shaped the industry thanks to their talented casts going on to become major stars also influencing a new generation of filmmakers in terms of editing and pacing.
14 Yorgos Lanthimos
Irrefutably, one of the most artistically unrestrained filmmakers of the 21st century so far has been Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos. The Dogtooth auteur has helmed some of the most eccentric and stylistically unique movies of the last 20 years. Transitioning into the world of English-language movie-making with 2015’s The Lobster, Lanthimos has strained specific emphasis on themes of dystopian society, the awkwardness of human interaction, and ideas around the concept of love.
What Makes Him One of the Best of the 21st Century
He captures his films with this vivid, expansive lens, frequently employing wide-angled shots and, sometimes, even a fish-eye-like look. His style is perhaps the most easily identifiable of the assortment of directors on this list, and his focus on creating these geometric distortions taps into the filmmaker’s vision of manufacturing this disorienting dystopian society. With his recent contributions to the film industry being recognized by the Academy, with 2019's The Favourite claiming Olivia Colman the Best Actress award and 2023's Poor Things nominated for 11 Academy Awards, Lanthimos has never been short of critical commendation.
13 Chloé Zhao
Ever since Chloé Zhao burst onto the scene with her film Songs My Brothers Taught Me in 2015, she has become one of the most exciting voices working today. She followed that up with the critically acclaimed The Rider. Marvel Studios then hired her to do Eternals, and due to delays on that film, she was also able to work on another movie, Nomadland. Nomadland won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2021, and Zhao won Best Director, making her the second female filmmaker to win the top prize. While Eternals was seen as somewhat of a disappointment when it came out, it was something very different from the rest of the MCU.
What Makes Zhao One of the Best of the 21st Century
Across her filmography, Zhao has always been interested in exploring the beauty in everyday life. Both Songs My Brothers Taught Me and The Rider are notable for not using actors. Even a major MCU film like Eternals, with all of its massive scope about alien gods and the end of the world, is about the beauty in humanity and the everyday wonders of the world. Her films are about exploring connections between people and how every day can be extraordinary. Zhao is currently working on two projects, a new sci-fi western version of Dracula for Universal Pictures and an adaptation of the book Hamnet, which is a fictional account of William Shakespeare's son, Hamnet, who died at age eleven in 1596, focusing on his parents' grief. Zhao has an exciting future ahead of her, and audiences will reap the benefits.
12 Alfonso Cuarón
What leaps out when assessing director Alfonso Cuarón's filmmaking credentials is his immense versatility and the fact he can seemingly turn his hand to any genre, style, or plot and make a distinctive, striking, and frequently dramatic screenplay. From 2001's Y tu mamá también and 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to 2006's Children of Men and 2013's Gravity, this eclectic collage of movies are each standalone triumph. 2018 brought with it Cuaron's cinematic homecoming in the delicate, monochromatic embrace with drama, Roma. This passion project would land Cuaron critical plaudits as well as four Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film.
What Makes Alfonso Cuaron One of the Best of the 21st Century
Cuarón's movies are always beautifully shot, mixing impressive cinematography signified with long takes and frames filled with visual information that packs so much detail into the worlds of these stories. His capacity to capture human emotion in the most fleeting of moments makes him such a dexterous filmmaker. Cuarón is a filmmaker who had gotten audiences to invest in an original film like Gravity to become a box office smash and watch a subtitled foreign language film, Roma, with no difficulties, showing his power as a director who has become mainstream but not needed to sacrifice his artistic identity.
11 Lars Von Trier
This Danish director has been making films for more than 40 years; however, some of his most impactful contributions to cinema have been released over the past 20 years. Lars Von Trier is known for making uncompromising and challenging movies to push the boundaries of traditional storytelling. His films often deal with taboo subjects such as depression, addiction, and mental illness.
What Makes Lars Von Trier of the Best of the 21st Century
His depictions of raw and unflinching human suffering have earned him accolades and many criticisms among his peers. Von Trier is known for his innovative use of camera techniques and willingness to take creative risks to tell stories in unconventional ways to provoke a strong emotional reaction from his audience. His incredibly powerful and individualistic techniques are brought to life in movies like Nymphomaniac Vol.1 and 2, Melancholia, as well as The House That Jack Built.
10 Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve has become one of the best-known filmmakers of the 21st century. He is a master of tension and suspense, with most of his films creating moody atmospheres full of complex characters who are not always what they seem. Villeneuve has a gift for immersive and haunting worlds that draw audiences into his stories. His ability to blend genres seamlessly allows him to invade your senses by mixing drama, thriller, and science fiction elements for thought-provoking experiences. Villeneuve's films often deal with themes such as identity, memory, and morality, challenging audiences to think deeply about the world around them.
How Denis Villeneuve's Versatility Makes Him One of the Best Directors of the 21st Century
Having made poignant movies on humanity about such as 2010's Academy Award-nominated, Incendies, to delving into the complexities of cross-border criminal enterprise with 2015's Sicario. Villeneuve's versatility lends itself to making the best of any genre or story, and while his penchant for making epic sci-fi flicks in recent years, with Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and Dune, has propelled his career to stratospheric heights, the fact he has the can simply make the seamless transition back to affecting dramas or set-piece-filled action thrillers is indicative of his profound dexterity as a filmmaker.
9 Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernay got her start as a documentarian filmmaker, with her debut feature being This is My Life, before transitioning to narrative features with 2010's I Will Follow. Since then, she has emerged as one of the most exciting voices in cinema with films like Middle of Nowhere, Selma, A Wrinkle in Time, and Origin, along with the powerful documentary The 13th.
Why DuVernay Is One of the Greatest Filmmakers of the 21st Century
DuVernay's films have always been extremely personal expressions, and oftentimes, she mixes her skills as a documentarian and a narrative storyteller in the best possible way. While many would criticize her movies for having messages that they feel she just delivers, what makes her such a great filmmaker is how these messages are compiled into fascinating narratives and compelling dramas that can stir the soul. She is a filmmaker who is using the medium of film and the power it possesses to give voice to not just her worldview but hopefully inspire positive change and conversation around important issues.
8 Greta Gerwig
Greta Gerwig has become a real trailblazer for women in the film industry. After a stellar 2023, when her blockbuster, Barbie, painted the world pink, the director's stock has never been higher. Marrying cutting social commentaries with this characteristic humor that has become such a hallmark of her writing and directing, she has turned in winner after winner since 2017's Lady Bird. She then followed the successful A24 movie with the acclaimed Little Women and then Barbie, which, at $1.4 billion worldwide, is the 14th highest-grossing movie of all time.
Why Greta Gerwig Deserves to be Recognised as a 21st Century Great
Her ability to squeeze every morsel of personality and ability out of her cast is a testament to the highly inspiring and comically gifted person she is. She is a filmmaker who has taken bold risk after bold risk. Following her persona life-story film like Lady Bird with another adaptation of Little Women, only for it to be one of the best versions of the story with a unique cinematic perspective was already bold. Then she made Barbie, a movie based on a plastic doll that many people would not have taken seriously, and made one of the biggest movies of all time by making both a laugh-out-loud comedy and satire but also an exploration of what it means to be a woman and finding one's place in the world. Gerwig is both an auteur and a populist filmmaker.
7 David Fincher
Most people would be afraid to know what's on David Fincher's mind. While some of the director's most famous movies might have come out in the 1990s, like Fight Club and Se7en, the 21st century has featured some of his most acclaimed The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Zodiac, Gone Girl, and most recently, The Killer. The American director is known for his dark, brooding films exploring the most twisted complexities of the human psyche.
What Makes David Fincher One of the Best Directors of the Century
His unique, striking visual style combines traditional film techniques and visual effects, blending to tell cohesive yet haunting tales. Fincher has incredible skills to create tension, suspense, and a sense of desperation in all his stories. The director has a gift for bringing nuanced and subtle performances from his actors to elevate all his films and explore complex themes such as personal identity, social power, and inner obsessions. The 21st century is when he developed his reputation as a meticulous filmmaker, one that is so careful about every frame and shot in his movies where he requires multiple takes, but it is one that has resulted in some of the best movies of the past twenty years.
6 Wes Anderson
Only a few people can do comedy the way Wes Anderson does. Despite his first two films, Bottle Rocket and Rushmore coming out at the tail end of the 1990's, most of his work has been released in the 2000s and onward. The Royal Tenenbaums kicked off a run of films that also includes The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch, and his most recent film, Asteroid City.
How Anderson's Unique Style Make Him a 21st-Century Directorial Icon
Anderson's films have a penchant for taking the spectator to unique places by stimulating the imagination through the whimsical nature of his characters and his instantly recognizable, theatrically-inspired set design. The fabled director is renowned for making whimsical and visually stunning films, often opting for fast-paced comedies infused with melancholic elements such as grief, loss, social dysfunctionality, or even unlikely friendships. His unique approach to character-driven storylines and attention to detail has earned him universal praise in the film industry and a large following of fans.
5 Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino needs no introduction. The director's cinematic releases have industry-wide events and while he certainly redefined the 1990s with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, the large portion of his cinematic outings have been in the 21st century. Kill Bill, Django Unchained, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Inglourious Basterds to name a few. In fact, films like Inglorious Basters, Django Unchained, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood represent some of Tarantino's biggest box office hits, showing he is a filmmaker who has a unique voice and has become somewhat of a brand himself that has translated to box office success.
What Makes Tarantino Such a 21st Century Great?
Tarantino is known for his stylish and often controversial movies. His ability to create snarky, memorable characters combined with his unique approach to storytelling has earned the director multiple awards and critical praise... however, the Oscar for Best Film still eludes him. Tarantino has often said he's retiring after making his tenth film. We'll see if he gets honored by the Academy in his last venture or whether he continues making movies thereafter. Yet there is no denying that when it comes to iconic filmmakers and movies of the 21st century, Tarantino certainly needs to be in the conversation.
4 Bong Joon-Ho
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean filmmaker who is a defining filmmaker of the 21st century, as his first film, Barking Dogs Never Bite, opened in theaters in 2000. Since then, he has become one of the biggest voices in cinema that has reached a global audience. The Host became a breakout kaiju monster movie, while Snowpiercer, starring Chris Evans, helped draw in American audiences. Thanks to Netflix, Okja reached a wider audience than it likely would have before. His latest film, Parasite, became a critical favorite and defied all expectations to win Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director, and Best Picture, making it the first time a non-American production won the top prize at the Academy Awards.
Bong Joon-ho Get's Audiences Excited
Bong Joon-ho's rise in popularity has come as globalization has made it easier for international films to play for American audiences. Now, audiences are not as turned off by subtitles or films from other countries. While filmmakers from other countries have always had a way of gaining traction with American audiences, like Jean-Luc Goddard or Akira Kurosawa, Bong Joon-ho has achieved a level of commercial and awards success that these filmmakers had to wait much longer to achieve. Audiences are now eagerly awaiting Joon-ho's next film, Mickey 17, which is set for release sometime in 2024.
3 Guillermo Del Toro
Guillermo Del Toro has established himself as not just a great director, but an industry pioneer. The Mexican auteur must be the prodigy child of modern horror, and his immense faculty for creating new and original tales of the supernatural are mesmerizing and truly one of a kind, in equal measure. With a soft spot for depicting fantasy, Del Toro has been an enduring presence for over two decades, with The Shape of the Water, Pan's Labyrinth, and Pinocchio, some of his most prominent work. He also has not been afraid to tackle blockbuster films like Blade 2, Pacific Rim, and two Hellboy movies but still treats them with the same level of respect and care as he would a serious drama.
What Makes Guillermo Del Toro One of the Best Directors of the 21st Century?
His films have a specific visual style that works as a personal signature. His imagination creates twisted worlds of atrocities that match the intricate visuals of narratives of past authors such as H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. As a fan of Mechas, he's been the only director able to portray a faithful Kaijus vs. Robots adaption in the American market. Despite all his visual tropes, Del Toro still manages to inflict numerous human traits on all the stories narrated through his spectacles. Having won Best Director for 2018's The Shape of Water, the director is deservedly named one of the best of his era.
2 Paul Thomas Anderson
Arguably the biggest testament to Paul Thomas Anderson's ability as a director is the fact that his attachment to any script attracts some of the most coveted talents in Hollywood, such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Cruise, Joaquin Phoenix, and Owen Wilson. Like Tarantino and Anderson, he might have gotten his start and two of his biggest films in the 90s with Boogie Nights and Magnolia. Yet the 21st century has seen his most fascinating and creatively bold films, from the romantic drama Punch-Drunk Love to the coming-of-age drama Licorice Pizza and the trippy adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon novel Inherent Vice. Yet his best achievement is 2007's There Will Be Blood, which is too many, not only one of the best films of the 2000s but one of the best films of all time.
Why Paul Thomas Anderson is One of the Top Directors of His Generation
Paul Thomas Anderson might not have the box office draw to mainstream audiences the way Tarantino, Del Toro, or even Wes Anderson have, but there is no denying that every one of his films is an event movie. Instead of chasing awards, the director has just made films that fascinate him and tell compelling stories. While films, like There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, and Licorice Pizza, have gained Academy Award nominations for Best Pictures, in many ways, they seem outside of the traditional awards fair as the director has not gone marketing himself to extreme measures taken to make a movie or big showy performances. He tends to have deeply flawed but realistic characters and tackles themes of loneliness, isolation, and found family, all with a unique visual style that has evolved with each film. He crafts films that are paradoxically critically acclaimed but also somehow overlooked compared to others, but when history looks back, there is no doubt that he is one of the best filmmakers of the 21st century.
1 Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan is a name that has refined movies in the 21st century on a level that he is well-known and beloved by critics, film fans, and mainstream movie audiences alike. Nolan is known for his intricate, mind-bending narratives and stunning visuals, achieved mainly with practical effects. He redefined the Batman franchise with his Dark Knight trilogy that not only relaunched the character but changed superhero and blockbuster filmmaking for years to come, inspiring reboots and grounded takes on popular IPs. He has also been a filmmaker who has turned original ideas like Inception, Interstellar, and Dunkirk into box-office hits. His latest film, Oppenheimer, speaks to his power as a filmmaker. The three-hour talky biopic about the man who created the atomic bomb went on to become one of the biggest movies of the summer, grossing $954 million at the worldwide box office.
What Makes Christopher Nolan the Best Director of the 21st Century?
Nolan has a spellbinding knack for capturing the sheer scale of this feat, both scientifically and the domino-effect it had on humankind. Whether it be The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Interstellar, or Dunkirk, Nolan has become known as a technical wizard but also a filmmaker who can turn very abstract complex concepts into mainstream narratives that everyone can understand. Oppenheimer landed 13 Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Nolan, only the second time he has been nominated following Dunkirk. The talented auteur may finally break his Oscar luck and take home Best Director. Nolan's status as a technical craftsman, a widely beloved filmmaker, and a blockbuster director balancing both franchise and original films has made him a name audience trust and know. He is easily the defining filmmaker of the 21st century so far.