By Mira Nayak
When people ask me my favorite movie, I answer with my favorite director. Director and screenwriter Edgar Wright has produced the movies that make me love movies, opening up a world of color, sound, and comedy. Through Edgar Wright’s films, you can tell the cast is having the time of their lives, and so is the audience. Wright makes a movie’s movie, utilizing sound, color, and frame, pushing his simple comedic plotlines to their limits. To all those bored by Oscar-bait, I highly recommend a dive into Edgar Wright’s filmography to fall in love with film.
Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010)
Based on the graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’ Malley, the movie follows the story of Scott Pilgrim chasing Ramona Flowers, having to fight her seven evil exes along the way. As Wright adapts the graphic novel, he maintains the comic feel through bright colors, on-screen graphics, split frames, and unique costumes, while mixing in a dream soundtrack, stellar cast, and masterclass direction. The cult classic features Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aubrey Plaza, Kieran Culkin, Brie Larson, Chris Evans, Jason Schwartzman, and many other fan favorites. Scott Pilgrim vs the World leaves no dull moment and is my go-to recommendation for all comedy lovers.
Baby Driver (2017)
Baby Driver follows deaf, music-loving orphan Baby battling his moral conscience as a getaway driver for bank robberies. Baby’s love for music allows Wright to replace excess dialogue with an outstanding soundtrack. When I recommend this film, all I ask is for you to sit through the first 6 minutes. The nonverbal six-minute intro gives you all you need to know, through “Bellbottoms” by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and an epic car chase. Those six minutes were decades to Edgar Wright, who had imagined a car chase to that song since 1995. To all music lovers and bank robbers out there, get ready to be on the edge of your seat for 1hr 55min!
Last Night in Soho (2021)
In Last Night in Soho, Wright steps out of his comedy comfort zone into the horror and mystery genre in a fantastic telling of a modern fashion designer uncovering the secrets of 1960s Soho. The plot keeps the audience as oblivious as the main character, Eloise, succeeding in a satisfying 2 hours. The film also has a noteworthy color grade, utilizing red, blue, and the neon of downtown Soho. Last Night in Soho is for those who romanticise the past, and the psychological horrors of living in it.
Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy: Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), The World’s End (2013)
Three comedies. Three cornettos. Simon Pegg. The anthology series parodies zombie movies, cop comedies, and alien invasion films, tied together by belly laughs and cornetto ice cream cones. The first, Shaun of the Dead, aka the strawberry cornetto, is a zombie horror-comedy mocking stereotypical zombie films with mundane life. Next, Hot Fuzz, the original cornetto, searches for the importance of friendship in its buddy-cop format. Ending with The World’s End, the mint cornetto, Simon Pegg embarks on an epic bar crawl turned battle for mankind. The simple plotlines turned heartwarming and tear-jerking stories, alongside their parodical value, form the perfect, rewatchable comedy trilogy.
Edgar Wright Film in the Wild: The Ant-Man Debacle
Brilliant colors? Classic comedy? Thematic soundtrack? Why hasn’t Wright directed a Marvel movie? Well, he almost did. Edgar Wright was set to direct Ant-Man, developing the project for 8 years before leaving in May 2014. Wright wrote the script before Iron Man (2008) had come out, with the intention of writing a heist-style Edgar Wright film, only for Marvel to change his style to fit its own formula. Luckily, Wright has had his fair share of loveable heists since then, namely Baby Driver (2017) and The Running Man (2025).