Industry powerhouse Shawn Levy is the creator, director and producer of some of the era’s most acclaimed and successful film and television content and the founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. Known for his masterful command of performance, action and tone, Levy’s genre-defining projects are distinguished by a quality of character, humanism and heart that has launched multiple franchises and, in so doing, has changed the cultural zeitgeist.
Recently, Levy joined the two most successful franchises of all time based on box office and cultural impact: Marvel and Star Wars. Levy directed, produced and co-wrote Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen. The film is the biggest R-rated opening of all time and the highest-grossing R-rated movie in film history. Levy is also producing and directing the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter (2027) starring Ryan Gosling. The film goes into production this fall and will be released theatrically on May 28, 2027.
As executive producer and a director on Netflix’s groundbreaking and Emmy®-winning Stranger Things, created by The Duffer Brothers, Levy is a key architect in one of the most culturally resonant series of the past decade. The highly anticipated fifth and final season is set to premiere in late 2025.
21 Laps has an overall TV deal with Netflix and is rigorously committed to empowering filmmakers’ voice and vision, while remaining devoted to crafting stories built for audience connection and delight. Their wildly successful theatrical films have grossed $5 billion at the worldwide box office. Levy earned DGA and PGA nominations for directing and producing the Golden Globe®-nominated Netflix limited series All the Light We Cannot See, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. 21 Laps followed this success with another hit Netflix series, The Perfect Couple. In 2022, 21 Laps produced season 4 of Stranger Things, as well as Netflix’s most streamed movie, The Adam Project, also directed by Levy. Stranger Things season 4 and The Adam Project are among Netflix’s top 5 most popular of all time, and season 3 of Stranger Things is among the top 10. The year prior, Levy’s Free Guy was the highest-grossing original film of 2021. 21 Laps is also an associate producer on Netflix’s Stranger Things: The First Shadow. The West End play won several awards in 2024, including two Olivier® Awards, two Critics’ Circle® Awards and a WhatsOnStage® Award and made its Broadway debut in April 2025.
Additional 21 Laps films and series include the Academy Award®-nominated Arrival, The Spectacular Now, Cheaper by the Dozen, Shadow and Bone, Last Man Standing, The Boogeyman, and Unsolved Mysteries. Levy directed the blockbuster Night at the Museum franchise, Real Steel, The Internship, Date Night and This Is Where I Leave You.
