Directors Who Started on YouTube
It’s no secret that the YouTuber to director pipeline is hot right now, with the two biggest film currently in theaters, ‘Backrooms’ & ‘Obsession,’ both being directed by directors who got their start on the video platform. So naturally, I’m going to capitalize on that popularity and let you know about 11 modern film directors who got their start as YouTubers.
Curry Barker - Breaking through for he and Cooper Tomlinson’s sketch comedy channel, ‘that’s a bad idea,’ the 26-year old Barker made the jump from horror to comedy with his debut film, ‘Milk & Serial’ which had an $800 budget. Receiving positivity from critics, he then went on to direct ‘Obsession’ which has become one of the biggest hits of 2026 and one of the most financially successful films ever, grossing $151 million (as of writing) on a $1 million budget. Barker’s next film, ‘Anything but Ghosts,’ is set to release in 2027 and will star Aaron Paul, Bryce Dallas Howard, Violet McGraw, and Barker & Tomlinson, who co-wrote the film. Reports also say that Barker will write and direct the reboot of ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ for A24.
Kane Parsons - I will fully admit I don’t understand the origins of ‘Backrooms.’ I don’t really know what a creepypasta is and I had never heard of the idea until the movie went into development. My understanding is that there was a spooky story of sorts posted online and it became extremely popular. It then became more popular when a teenage Kane Parsons made a web series on YouTube based on the idea. So in a shocking, but really cool and successful move, when A24 began development on a ‘Backrooms’ movie, they got Parsons to helm it. Currently only 20 years old, Parsons is the youngest director to ever top the box office.
Markiplier - Definitely the most popular YouTuber on this list, Markiplier is one of the most popular YouTubers period. Rising to popularity with his Let’s Plays of horror games, Markiplier (real name, Mark Fischbach), direct, wrote, produced, and played the lead in the 2026 film ‘Iron Lung.’ After making a series playing through the game, Markiplier self financed the film and has been intricately involved all the way through theatrical, physical, and digital release.
Bo Burnham - Burnham became known on YouTube for his stand-up comedy, combining black comedy and songs into his sets. Burnham began acting, appearing in Oscar-nominated films like ‘The Big Sick’ and ‘Promising Young Woman.’ In 2018, he wrote and directed the coming-of-age dramedy, ‘Eighth Grade.’ The film won several awards, including awards for Burnham from both the WGA and DGA, and was nominated at the Golden Globes. It was also named one of the 10 best movies of the year by the National Board of Review. While Burnham hasn’t returned to directing films, he has since directed several comedy specials.
Chris Stuckmann - A YouTuber who became well known in the film space as a critic, Stuckmann made his directorial debut with ‘Shelby Oaks’ in 2024. While it’s one of the least well received films here, it certainly has some fans and made a net positive at the box office.
Michael Shanks - The Australian filmmaker has been active on YouTube since 2006, with his channel ‘timtimfed.’In 2025 his feature film, ‘Together,’ made it’s debut. The body horror stars Dave Franco & Alison Brie and he has both writing and directing projects lined up with studios like A24 and Sony.
Joe Penna - By 2011, Penna was the most subscribed to YouTube channel in Brazil, known for his channel ‘MysteryGuitarMan.’ In 2009 he made directing headlines becoming one of top new directors at the 20th Cannes Lion Showcase, due to a commercial he directed starring the YouTube GOATs, Rhett & Link. He has really boomed into his transition info film over the last decade. His 2016 short played at Tribeca, and his debut feature film, ‘Arctic,’ played at Cannes. He also directed the 2021 sci-fi film, ‘Stowaway’ starring Anna Kendrick and Toni Collette.
Kris Collins - While the creator known as ‘KallMeKris’ does run a successful YouTube channel, she’s definitely more known as a TikToker, due to her large account with over 50 million followers. Primarily known for her skits, she made her debut film ‘House on Eden, a found footage horror film that released in 2025.
Danny and Michael Philippou - Known together online as ‘RackaRacka’ these twin brothers became known for their horror comedy films. Their feature film debut came with 2022’s ‘Talk to Me’ which did extremely well at the box office and won several Australian film awards. Their second film came in 2025 with ‘Bring Her Back’ which didn’t quite reach the levels of their first film, but still did well financially, and received a lot of praise from critics, also receiving several minor awards and nominations.
David F. Sandberg - This Swedish director did extremely well online on both YouTube and Vimeo, known for his horror shorts. His debut feature was 2016’s ‘Lights Out’ which was produced by James Wan. He has since directed two more horror films ‘Annabelle: Creation’ and ‘Until Dawn’ and on top of that, directed both of DC’s ‘Shazam!’ films. He has several projects in the works, one through Lionsgate and two through Netflix.
Dan Trachtenberg - The biggest name on this list as a director, Trachtenberg’s breakthrough short was based on the video game ‘Portal.’ His debut film is one of the biggest mentioned in this article, ‘10 Cloverfield Lane,’ a sequel to ‘Cloverfield.’ Since 2022 he has been at the helm of the Predator franchise, directing three films in the franchise. He also directed Black Mirror’s ‘Playtest’ and the premiere episode of ‘The Boys.’
