Skip to content
MovieCove
Jon Spaihts

Jon Spaihts

Writer, producer and actor · Born February 4, 1970 (56) · New York City, New York, USA

Oscar nominee · BAFTA Award nominee · 2 other major award bodies

Jon Spaihts (/speɪts/) (born February 4, 1970) is an American screenwriter and author. He is best known for co-writing Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021) and its sequel Dune: Part Two (2024), both films based on the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. He also wrote the screenplays for the films Prometheus (2012), Passengers (2016) and Doctor Strange (2016). For his work on Dune, Spaihts was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jon Spaihts, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 4, 1970 (56)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Writer, producer and actor
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 15 credits in all
TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 8% in 30 days

What are Jon Spaihts' films like?

Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Ideas.

What they feel like to watch

their average across 10 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 2 · Dark 5

Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 7

Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 6

A split, not a type: Steady 5 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 2

Casual 1 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 3

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
7
Dread
3
Thrilling
3
Contemplative
3
Melancholic
2
Other
8

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet6
  • Ambiguous2
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Jon Spaihts' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (4).

Subscription and free streaming for Jon Spaihts' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

15 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • A Minecraft Movie Squared (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

    Executive Producer

  • Dune: Part Three(2026)

    Executive Producer · Writer

  • A Minecraft Movie(2025)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
  • Dune: Prophecy(2024)

    Show 14 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows
  • The Crow(2024)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
  • Dune: Part Two(2024)

    Executive Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
  • Dune(2021)

    Executive Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
  • The Mummy(2017)

    Screenstory

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
  • Passengers(2016)

    Executive Producer · Writer · as Autodoc (voice)

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
  • Doctor Strange(2016)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
  • Prometheus(2012)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
  • The Darkest Hour(2011)

    Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
  • Gears of War (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Screenplay

  • The Forever War (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Writer

  • Untitled Jon Spaihts / Laika Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Writer

Career shape

A full career of 15 titles, 10 of them dated from 2011 to 2025.

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 15: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting1 of 15: 0 only directing, 1 with another roleWriting10 of 15: 6 only writing, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score76thProducing8 of 15: 5 only producing, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score65th

15 titles, 4 with more than one role — writing and producing overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

2010s5 · 1 acting · 5 crew2020s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

6 major nominations and no wins, 2022–2025.

  1. 2025
    • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Adapted Screenplay
    • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
  2. 2022
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Screenplay (Adapted)
    • +2 other major bodies · 2 nominations
      • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Adapted Screenplay
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Jon Spaihts' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of the 9 of 10 with a score; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 72nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

72ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

95thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 10 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th3

Reviewers score the dialogue 39/100 and the plot and story 39/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Jon Spaihts' work okay for kids?

Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore8 titles43–73 · median 64 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity8 titles17–38 · median 27 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity8 titles26–55 · median 34 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs8 titles15–38 · median 31 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense8 titles42–72 · median 60 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Jon Spaihts work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jon Spaihts' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Cale Boyter shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles