Oren Uziel

Oren Uziel (born June 28, 1974) is an American film screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his work on Mortal Kombat: Rebirth (2010), 22 Jump Street (2014), The Cloverfield Paradox (2018), and The Lost City (2022).

Oren Uziel
Born	(1974-06-28) June 28, 1974 (age 51) Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupations	Film screenwriter Director Producer
Years active	2010–present
Notable work	Mortal Kombat: Rebirth 22 Jump Street The Cloverfield Paradox The Lost City

Early life

Oren Uziel was born on June 28, 1974, in Evanston, Illinois.^[1]

Career

In April 2010, Uziel began his career when he co-wrote the fan film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth,^[2][3] which led to New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. hiring him to script a feature-length Mortal Kombat film in September 2011.^[4][5] After languishing in development hell for nearly a decade, the film was eventually released in April 2021, with Uziel credited as a co-story writer.^[6] In December 2010, his screenplay for the comedy horror film The Kitchen Sink appeared on The Black List,^[7] before being picked up by Sony Pictures in February 2012^[8] and eventually released as Freaks of Nature in October 2015.^[9] In 2011, he scripted the horror film Shimmer Lake,^[10][11] which he eventually directed in 2016, making his directorial debut.^[12]

In November 2012, he wrote the screenplay for the science fiction horror film God Particle, which was eventually released in February 2018 as The Cloverfield Paradox.^[11][10] In May 2013, he was writing the screenplay for Men in Black 4.^[13] In September 2013, he scripted the action comedy film 22 Jump Street.^[14] In December 2013, he teamed up with John Krasinski to write an action-adventure film for Warner Bros.^[15] In April 2018, he wrote a draft for the action comedy film Borderlands,^[16][17] but after several rewrites, he was officially credited for "additional literary material".^[18] In August 2018, he wrote a screenplay for a Supergirl film.^[19][20] In January 2019, he was writing the sequel to Detective Pikachu,^[21][22] however he eventually left the project by February 2023.^[23]

In April 2019, he co-wrote the screenplays for Sonic the Hedgehog and Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, but went uncredited in the former.^[24][25][26] In September 2019, he was hired to write a Face/Off remake,^[27] however he eventually left the project by February 2021.^[28] In October 2020, he drafted the screenplay for the romantic comedy film The Lost City,^[29][30] prior to providing additional literary material for Strays,^[31][32] Kraven the Hunter,^[33] Sonic the Hedgehog 3,^[34] and A Minecraft Movie.^[35] In August 2022, he wrote the screenplay for a Clue remake.^[36] In February 2023, he was hired as showrunner and executive producer on the superhero streaming series Spider-Noir.^[37][38] In April 2023, he was hired to draft the screenplay for Fast X: Part 2, alongside Christina Hodson.^[39][40][41] However, in June 2024, they were replaced by Zach Dean.^[42]

Filmography

Feature films

Year	Title	Director	Notes/Ref(s)
2014	22 Jump Street	Phil Lord Christopher Miller	[14]
2015	Freaks of Nature	Robbie Pickering	[9]
2017	Shimmer Lake	Himself	[12]
2018	The Cloverfield Paradox	Julius Onah	[11]
2020	Sonic the Hedgehog	Jeff Fowler	Uncredited screenwriter[24]
2021	Mortal Kombat	Simon McQuoid	Story only[6]
	Escape Room: Tournament of Champions	Adam Robitel	Also co-producer[26]
2022	The Lost City	Aaron and Adam Nee	[30]

Additional literary material only

• Strays (2023)^[31][32]
• Borderlands (2024)^[18]
• Kraven the Hunter (2024)^[33]
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)^[34]
• A Minecraft Movie (2025)^[35]

Short films

Year	Title	Director	Notes/Ref(s)
2010	Mortal Kombat: Rebirth	Kevin Tancharoen	[3]

Television

Year	Title	Director	Notes/Ref(s)
2013	Mortal Kombat: Legacy	Kevin Tancharoen	Episode: "Scorpion and Sub-Zero II (Part 2)"
2026	Spider-Noir	Various	Post-production Also executive producer and showrunner[43]