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).
Early life Oren Uziel was born on June 28, 1974, in Brooklyn, New York.
Career In April 2010, Uziel began his career when he co-wrote the fan film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, which led to New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. hiring him to script a feature-length Mortal Kombat film in September 2011. After languishing in development hell for nearly a decade, the film was released in April 2021, with Uziel credited as a co-story writer. In December 2010, his screenplay for the comedy horror film The Kitchen Sink appeared on The Black List, before being picked up by Sony Pictures in February 2012 and released as Freaks of Nature in October 2015. In 2011, he scripted the crime film Shimmer Lake, which he directed in 2016, making his directorial debut.
In November 2012, he wrote the screenplay for the science fiction horror film God Particle, which was released in February 2018 as The Cloverfield Paradox. In May 2013, he was writing the screenplay for Men in Black 4. In September 2013, he scripted the action comedy film 22 Jump Street. In December 2013, he teamed up with John Krasinski to write an action-adventure film for Warner Bros.
In April 2018, he wrote a draft for the action comedy film Borderlands, but after several rewrites, he was officially credited for "additional literary material". In August 2018, he wrote a screenplay for a Supergirl film. In January 2019, he was writing the sequel to Detective Pikachu. He left the project in February 2023.
In April 2019, he co-wrote the screenplays for Sonic the Hedgehog and Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, but went uncredited in the former. In September 2019, he was hired to write a Face/Off remake. He left the project in February 2021. In October 2020, he drafted the screenplay for the romantic comedy film The Lost City, prior to providing additional literary material for Strays, Kraven the Hunter, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and A Minecraft Movie.
In August 2022, he wrote the screenplay for a Clue remake. In February 2023, he was hired as showrunner and executive producer on the superhero streaming series Spider-Noir. In April 2023, he was hired to draft the screenplay for Fast Forever, alongside Christina Hodson. In June 2024, they were replaced by Zach Dean.
Filmography Film Short film Year Title Director Notes/Ref(s) 2010 Mortal Kombat: Rebirth Kevin Tancharoen
Feature film Year Title Director Notes/Ref(s) 2014 22 Jump Street Phil LordChristopher Miller 2015 Freaks of Nature Robbie Pickering 2017 Shimmer Lake Himself 2018 The Cloverfield Paradox Julius Onah 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog Jeff Fowler Uncredited screenwriter 2021 Mortal Kombat Simon McQuoid Story only Escape Room: Tournament of Champions Adam Robitel Also co-producer 2022 The Lost City Aaron and Adam Nee
Additional literary material only Strays (2023) Borderlands (2024) Kraven the Hunter (2024) Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) A Minecraft Movie (2025)
Television Year Title Writer ExecutiveProducer Developer Showrunner Notes/Ref(s) 2013 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Episode: "Scorpion and Sub-Zero II (Part 2)" 2026 Spider-Noir Wrote episodes "Step Into My Office" and "The Man in the Mask"
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