J. D. Dillard

• Name — JD Dillard • Born — 26 December 1987 • Occupation — * Film director • Producer • Screenwriter • Mother — Geri Dillard • Father — Bruce Dillard • Years Active — 2013–present • Notable Works — * Sleight (2016) • Sweetheart (2019) • Devotion (2022)

Dillard was raised as a Navy brat, the son of Bruce and Geri Dillard. His father was a Naval flight officer and the second African-American selected to fly for the Blue Angels.

In March2013, Dillard directed a trailer for Empire of the Suns second album Ice on the Dune. In 2016, he directed the science fiction crime drama film Sleight, for Blumhouse Tilt. In a 2017 interview with /Film, Dillard disclosed that he was in early negotiations to direct a remake of David Cronenberg's The Fly. Dillard stated that he might work with Alex Theurer, the co-writer of Sleight, on it, and that the two of them "want to start with character" when making the film. In January2019, he wrote and directed the horror film Sweetheart, starring Kiersey Clemons. In February 2019, Legendary Entertainment won a bidding war for Mastering Your Past, which was written by Dillard. In April2019, he wrote the supernatural noir film Stray. In September2019, he directed an episode of The CW series Two Sentence Horror Stories. In December2019, he cameoed as StormtrooperFN-1226 in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. In February2020, it was reported that Dillard was developing an untitled Star Wars film, and was in talks to direct The Return of the Rocketeer, a sequel to the 1991 film The Rocketeer. In November 2022, Dillard announced he was not attached to either Star Wars or Rocketeer projects. In 2020, he directed an episode of the HBO miniseries The Outsider. In June 2020, Dillard directed an episode of the CBS All Access series The Twilight Zone. In September2020, he directed an episode of the Amazon Prime Video series Utopia. In February2021, he directed the action war film Devotion, starring Jonathan Majors as Jesse L. Brown. Dillard stated that his father's real-life service as a Naval flight officer partly inspired his handling of the film. During filming, Dillard's parents visited the set, and his father acted as a Navy pilot tech consultant for the film. He served as co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer on the upcoming AppleTV series Neuromancer, based on the book of the same name. The series is set to premiere on January22, 2027.

Film • Year — Title — Director — Producer — Writer — Ref. • 2016 — Sleight • 2019 — Sweetheart • Stray • 2022 — Devotion — Executive Television • Year — Title — Director — Executive producer — Writer — Creator — Notes — Ref. • 2019 — Two Sentence Horror Stories — Episode: "Trilogy: Guilt Trip" • 2020 — The Outsider — Episode: "Foxhead" • The Twilight Zone — Episode: "Downtime" • Utopia — Episode: "Talking Hurts" • 2027 — Neuromancer — Directed 3 episodes, wrote 4 episodes

In January 2016, Dillard was nominated at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Awards, in the category "Best of Next!", for his work on Sleight. In February 2018, Dillard received two nominations at the Black Reel Awards of 2018, in the categories "Best Emerging Filmmaker" and "Best First Screenplay", also for his work on Sleight.