Akela Cooper

Akela Cooper
Born
Hayti, Missouri, U.S.
Alma materTruman State University
Occupation(s)Screenwriter
Television producer
Years active2012–present

Akela Cooper is an American screenwriter and television producer. She is the screenwriter of horror films including Hell Fest (2018), Malignant (2021), M3GAN (2022), The Nun II (2023), and M3GAN 2.0 (2025). Cooper was named in Variety's 10 Screenwriters to Watch for 2021 list.[1]

Early life and education

Cooper was raised in Hayti, Missouri.[2] She graduated from Truman State University with a degree in creative writing in 2003[3] and received her MFA from the USC School of Cinema-Television, where she was the first recipient of the NAACP/CBS Writer's Fellowship.[4]

Career

Cooper was a staff writer for Grimm for two seasons and went on to be a writer and co-producer for The 100, American Horror Story, Luke Cage, Jupiter's Legacy, Witches of East End, and Chambers. She wrote the horror film Malignant, released in September 2021.[1] She is the screenwriter of the sequel to the horror film The Nun, as well as the 2022 horror film M3GAN and its forthcoming sequel.[5] Cooper was announced as the showrunner for the upcoming HBO Max television adaptation of the novel Monster by A. Lee Martinez.[6]

Filmography

Film writer

Television

Year Title Writer Producer Notes Ref.
2012 Tron: Uprising Yes No 1 episode [7]
2012–13 Grimm Yes No 3 episodes [1]
2014 Witches of East End Yes Yes 1 episode [1]
2014–2015 The 100 Yes Yes 3 episodes [1]
2016 American Horror Story Yes Supervising 1 episode [1]
2016–18 Luke Cage Yes Yes 4 episodes [10]
2018–19 Avengers Assemble Yes No 2 episodes
2019 Chambers Yes Executive 1 episode [1]
2021 Jupiter's Legacy Yes Executive 1 episode [1]
2022 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Yes Executive 2 episodes [11][12]
TBA Monster TBA TBA Showrunner [6]

Awards and nominations

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Hailu, Selome (2021-09-28). "Variety Announces 10 Screenwriters to Watch for 2021". Variety. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  2. ^ "AKELA COOPER | Television Workshop". televisionworkshop.warnerbros.com. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  3. ^ tmiles (23 January 2014). "Writing for the Small Screen". Truman Review. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  4. ^ "NAACP and CBS Create Fellowship at USC". USC News. 2005-10-19. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  5. ^ a b c Ramos, Dino-Ray (2019-04-15). "'The Nun' Sequel Sets 'Luke Cage's Akela Cooper As Screenwriter". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  6. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (2021-05-27). "Berlanti Productions' Karyn Smith-Forge to Serve as President of Don Cheadle's This Radicle Act (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  7. ^ a b c "Rotten Tomatoes: Akela Cooper". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  8. ^ "'Nun 2' In Production With 'Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It' Director Michael Chaves". Collider. 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  9. ^ 'M3GAN 2.0' To Happen In 2025
  10. ^ a b Lewis, Hilary (10 February 2017). "2017 NAACP Image Award Winners: Complete List". THR. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  11. ^ Lovett, Jamie (2022-05-18). "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 3 Photos and Clip Released: Ghosts of Illyria". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  12. ^ Petski, Denise (2021-03-12). "'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds': Paramount+ Series Adds Five To Cast As Production Begins". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  13. ^ "Black*ish Paces the Black Reel Awards for Television Field". The Black Reel Awards. 2017-06-15. Archived from the original on 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2021-10-04.