Empire Magazine: The 30 most adventurous filmmakers of the last 30 years

A celebration of adventurous filmmaking

Author: Laura ThorntonPublished 28th Nov 2018
Last updated 28th Nov 2018

Empire Magazine has compiled an incredible list of 30 of the most adventurous filmakers from the last three decades. Danny Boyle. Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Katherine Bigelow, Guillermo del Toro and Martin Scorsese are on the hotly-debated list.

The list has been compiled by the experts at Empire and included filmmakers who have taken risks to make incredible cinema and been vital in evolving the medium of film.

Steven Spielberg


James Cameron


Martin Scorsese


Peter Jackson


Edgar Wright


Christopher Nolan


Quentin Tarantino


Kathryn Bigelow


Kevin Feige


Spike Lee


Ang Lee


Paul Greengrass


David Fincher


Danny Boyle


JJ Abrams


PT Anderson


Guillermo del Toro


Wes Anderson


Taika Waititi


Denis Villeneuve


Patty Jenkins


Steven Soderbergh


Christopher McQuarrie


Ava DuVernay


Jordan Peele


Damien Chazelle


Alfonso Cuaron


Ryan Coogler


Tim Burton


Coen Brothers


In 2008 Katherine Bigelow made history, becoming the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director for The Hurt Locker. Also featured is Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, the only female to direct a superhero film. Joining them is Ava DuVernay, the first black female director to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Selma in 2014.

Award-winning British directors Edgar Wright, Christopher Nolan, Paul Greengrass, and Danny Boyle also made the list.

Commenting on the list, Editor-in-chief Terri White said: “Empire has been passionately committed to adventurous filmmaking for the last thirty years, so our anniversary was the perfect opportunity to celebrate those who have taken the most risks and created some of the most thrilling moments in cinema.

"At the same time, we’re looking into the future – a future which embraces diversity within filmmaking. Empire is set to publish an upcoming filmmakers of the future list; a list that is made up of almost half women. A sure sign of how quickly, and significantly our industry is evolving."

Over the next 12 months, each filmmaker listed will be celebrated in a unique way across Empire’s touch points: print, digital, audio, video and social.

Empire’s January 2019 issue, including a world exclusive interview with James Cameron, hits the newsstands on Thursday 29 November.