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Justin Marks is an American screenwriter, producer and television showrunner. He was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 95th Academy Awards as one of the writers of Top Gun: Maverick. Marks alongside his wife Rachel Kondo is the creator and showrunner of the FX epic series Shōgun, based on the novel by James Clavell.
Justin Marks | |
|---|---|
| Born | United States |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, producer, television showrunner |
| Years active | 2002–present |
Marks graduated from Columbia College of Columbia University in 2002 and he studied architecture in college. During his senior year, he befriended a literary manager, who helped him launch his career in screenwriting.[1][2]
One of the first scripts Marks penned was Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li for 20th Century Fox. A year prior, he had also written a script for a potential He-Man film, initially entitled Grayskull: The Masters of The Universe. Marks is no longer involved with this project as of 2024, when it was announced that the film will have a script written by Chris Butler.
After a pilot produced for SyFy failed to sell, Marks wrote of his experiences for the Hollywood Reporter.[3]
In July 2013, Marks was hired by Disney to write a live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book.[4] Jon Favreau came on board as director,[5] and the film was released in April 2016, grossing $966 million worldwide. In 2016, Marks was working on a Jungle Book sequel with Favreau returning as director.[6]
In June 2015, it was revealed that Marks was working on the screenplay for a sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun.[7] The film, titled Top Gun: Maverick, was released in theatres between May 24 and May 27, 2022; Marks was credited as story co-writer with Peter Craig.[8][9]
Marks created the Starz science-fiction thriller Counterpart, starring J. K. Simmons. The show was ordered straight-to-series for two ten-episode seasons. The first episode premiered December 10, 2017, but the series failed to attract an audience.[10] Marks stated on his Twitter feed that MRC would attempt to find the series a new home.[11] Starz cited a lack of female appeal as a factor in the show's cancellation.[12]
In 2020, Marks and his wife Rachel Kondo commenced work on a new television TV adaptation of the James Clavell novel Shogun.[13][14]
He is also currently writing Prince of Port Au Prince, a Netflix CG-animated feature film inspired by the childhood of Haitian singer and The Fugees co-founder Wyclef Jean.
Film
| Year | Title | Notes | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li | Writer | 20th Century Fox |
| 2016 | The Jungle Book | Writer | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| 2022 | Top Gun: Maverick | Story only | Paramount Pictures |
Television
| Year | Title | Writer | Executive Producer |
Showrunner | Creator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Rewind | Yes | Yes | No | No | TV movie |
| 2017-2019 | Counterpart | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2024 | Shōgun | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | with Rachel Kondo |
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