Joe Johnston

Johnston was born Joseph Eggleston Johnston II in Austin, Texas, and attended California State University, Long Beach, and Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, both for industrial design.

Johnston made his directorial debut in 1989 with hit comedy adventure Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, starring Rick Moranis. He followed it with comic-book adaptation The Rocketeer (1991). The film was a commercial failure, as was his next, the live-action/animated The Pagemaster, starring Macaulay Culkin. Johnston rebounded, directing the family hit Jumanji, starring Robin Williams. The film overcame lukewarm reviews to gross over $260 million. Johnston was set to direct Hulk, but dropped out in July 1997. Johnston then switched gears from visual effects-driven action films to the more personal October Sky (1999), starring a teenage Jake Gyllenhaal as a 1950s West Virginia high school student who dreams of being a rocket scientist for NASA against his father's wishes. Johnston's first project of the 2000s was the sequel Jurassic Park III, which made over US$300 million at the box office. Johnston followed it with western Hidalgo, starring Viggo Mortensen. Johnston then took a six-year directorial break before signing on at a month's notice to take over the 2010 remake of 1941 horror classic The Wolfman. Shot in England, the film starred Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. In part thanks to his experience with the period superhero film The Rocketeer, Johnston was selected to direct Marvel Studios superhero adaptation Captain America: The First Avenger. Released on July 22, 2011, the film stars Chris Evans as the comic book hero and Hugo Weaving as his archenemy the Red Skull. In 2014, Johnston directed the thriller Not Safe for Work for Blumhouse Productions. On December 12, 2017, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Johnston would direct 32 days of reshoots on the film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, due to its director Lasse Hallström being unavailable. On December 5, 2019, it was reported that Joe Johnston was in negotiations with Walt Disney Pictures to direct Shrunk, a legacy sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.