{{Short description|British film director}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Use British English|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Stephen Norrington | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Stephen Norrington | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1964}} | birth_place = [[London]], England, UK | occupation = Film director, special effects artist, makeup artist, sculptor, illustrator, storyboard artist | years_active = {{ubl|1984–present|1994–2003 (film directing)}} | known_for = | spouse = | children = | parents = | awards = }} '''Stephen Norrington''' (born 1964) is an English special effects artist and retired film director known for his work in the horror and action genres. Beginning his career as a sculptor and makeup artist, he worked under [[Dick Smith (make-up artist)|Dick Smith]], [[Rick Baker]], and [[Stan Winston]] on a number of well-known, effects-driven films of the 1980s and 90s. His directorial credits include the cult sci-fi horror film ''[[Death Machine]]'' and the comic book adaptations ''[[Blade (1998 film)|Blade]]'' and ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)|The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]''. He portrayed [[Morbius|Michael Morbius]] in the [[alternative ending]] to ''Blade''.<ref name="morbius">{{Cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i615d6381ea5f08d7e601433264d28e83|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115063131/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i615d6381ea5f08d7e601433264d28e83 |archive-date=15 January 2010 |title=Stephen Norrington finds 'Lost Patrol' |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |first=Borys|last=Kit|date=13 October 2010}}</ref>
==Career== Norrington first worked in film as a special effects artist, doing so for several years, which included work on the films [[Aliens (film)|''Alien''s]] and [[Split Second (1992 film)|''Split Second'']]. In 1999, Norrington was offered to direct Blade II, the sequel to his 1998 film.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> He turned it down, having deliberately negotiated a one-picture deal for the first film. "I told my agent that I'd only do a 1-picture deal for Blade," Norrington explained. "The studio was simultaneously offended and nonplussed—I think they figured I was mentally ill."<ref name="Wells">{{cite web |last=Wells |first=Richard |date=2025-11-12 |title=The Man Who Launched the Superhero Era Then Vanished: What Happened to Stephen Norrington? |url=https://www.rewindzone.com/stephen-norrington-blade-director-what-happened/ |website=RewindZone |access-date=2025-12-10}}</ref> The studio hired Guillermo del Toro instead.<ref name=":2" /> He directed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) during which he experienced significant creative conflicts with the film's star Sean Connery. Following the production, Norrington left mainstream studio filmmaking and has since focused on independent projects, including The Migrant, a micro-budget sci-fi film he's producing single-handedly from his home studio.<ref name="Wells"/> Norrington was originally attached to [[Dimension Films]]'s ''[[Ghost Rider (2007 film)|Ghost Rider]]'' before it was acquired by [[Columbia Pictures]].<ref name="Miska-2010">{{cite web|url=https://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18676|title=WWII Backdrop, Monsters and 'The Lost Patrol'|last=Miska |first=Brad |date=13 January 2010 |work=[[Bloody Disgusting]]}}</ref> He was set to direct a remake of the 1981 fantasy film ''[[Clash of the Titans (1981 film)|Clash of the Titans]]'' before the position went to [[Louis Leterrier]], director of ''[[The Incredible Hulk (film)|The Incredible Hulk]]''.<ref name="Phillips-2008">{{cite web|title=The Crow To Fly Again: LXG's Norrington to write, direct| last=Phillips |first=Emily |url=https://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=23871|date=15 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617042057/https://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=23871 |archive-date=17 June 2013 |accessdate=13 January 2009|work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] }}</ref>
In 2008 it was announced that Norrington would direct a reboot of ''[[The Crow (2024 film)|The Crow]]'' franchise.<ref name="Miska-2010-04">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19918|title='The Crow' Redo Flying Back to Detroit?|last=Miska |first=Brad |date=21 April 2010 |work=Bloody Disgusting}}</ref> In 2010 it was reported he would direct and write the supernatural action thriller ''The Lost Patrol,'' to be distributed by [[Legendary Entertainment|Legendary Pictures]].<ref name="DreadCentral-2012">{{cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/15174/stephen-norrington-to-helm-the-lost-patrol-wwii-plus-monsters/|title=Stephen Norrington to Helm The Lost Patrol – WWII Plus Monsters!|date=July 2012 |work=[[Dread Central]]}}</ref>
In December 2011, Norrington revealed in an interview that, for the past year, he'd been working on ''Untitled Norrington Genre Project #1'', based on a feature film script he wrote in April 2008 for that year's ''[[Script Frenzy]]'' challenge. Centering on car chases, it was said to feature both live-action footage and scale models for greenscreen shots. Norrington revealed he was doing most of the work himself, as he did in his 2001 film ''[[The Last Minute]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.nanowrimo.org/post/13655605229/im-making-my-script-frenzy-script-a-qa-with|title='I'm Making My Script Frenzy Script!' A Q&A with Stephen Norrington |date=2 December 2011 |publisher=The NaNoWriMo Blog}}</ref>
==Unrealised projects== Norrington has had several unrealised projects throughout his career, listed here in roughly chronological order. During a career that has spanned over 20 years, he has worked on projects which never progressed beyond the [[pre-production]] stage under his direction. Many of them were produced after he left production.
In 1999, Norrington was offered to direct ''[[Blade II]]'', the sequel to his [[Blade (1998 film)|1998]] film.<ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Fleming |title=Helmer scales mountains |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117864489 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=25 March 2002 |access-date=3 December 2020 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news |first=Ellen |last=Wolff|title=Artists flaunt character development at confab |url=https://variety.com/2002/digital/features/artists-flaunt-character-development-at-confab-1117870028/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=21 July 2002 |access-date=6 June 2020 }}</ref> He turned it down,{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} and the studio hired [[Guillermo del Toro]] instead.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blade_2_bloodhunt/ |title=Blade 2 Movie Reviews, Pictures |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=6 January 2011 }}</ref>
In 2001, Norrington became attached to direct [[John Sayles]]' long-in-development script adaptation ''[[Brother Termite]]''.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=http://corona.bc.ca/films/details/brothertermite.html|title=Coming Attractions - Brother Termite|publisher=[[IGN]]|date=February 28, 2001|access-date=April 13, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011116122232/http://corona.bc.ca/films/details/brothertermite.html|archive-date=November 16, 2001|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Also in 2001, Norrington was attached to [[Dimension Films]]'s ''[[Ghost Rider (2007 film)|Ghost Rider]]'' before it was acquired by [[Columbia Pictures]].<ref name="Miska-2010"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Michael|first=Fleming|url=https://variety.com/2000/film/news/ghost-adds-a-dimension-1117785776/|title='Ghost' adds a Dimension|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=30 August 2000|access-date=6 June 2020}}</ref> It was eventually released in 2007, directed by [[Mark Steven Johnson]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Harris|first=Dana|url=https://variety.com/2003/film/news/johnson-sees-ghost-1117884327/|title=Johnson sees 'Ghost'|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=8 April 2003|access-date=6 June 2020}}</ref>
In 2001, Norrington announced he had agreed to direct a film based on ''[[Master of Kung Fu (comics)|The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu]]'', a film adaptation based on the Marvel character [[Shang-Chi]]. He described it as "a real honest-to-goodness martial arts film, rather than a film that simply has martial arts in it". In 2004, it was announced that [[Ang Lee]] had been brought on as producer. In 2005, it was announced that Stan Lee had agreed to executive produce the film for [[DreamWorks Pictures|DreamWorks]], with [[Yuen Woo-ping]] directing from a [[Bruce C. McKenna|Bruce McKenna]] screenplay.<ref name="leechiback">[http://blog.moviefone.com/2006/02/27/ang-lees-shang-chi-movie-is-back/ Ang Lee's Shang-Chi movie is back]</ref> In 2005, [[Avi Arad]] stated that he thought that a PG-13 adaptation was possible.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/interviews/a/arad_avi_062005/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217202100/http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/interviews/a/arad_avi_062005/ |archive-date=17 December 2007 |date=June 2012 |last=Carroll |first=Larry |title=Future Shocks: What's Ahead For Avi Arad and his Marvel empire? |publisher=MTV.com}}</ref> In 2006, Ang Lee confirmed his and Yuen's continued involvement with the project.<ref name="leechiback" /> In December 2018, [[Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings|a different film adaptation of Shang-Chi]] was announced, with a script by [[David Callaham]], without Norrington.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/12/shang-chi-marvel-studios-first-asian-film-superhero-dave-callaham-kevin-feige-black-panther-1202512660/|title='Shang-Chi' Marvel's First Asian Film Superhero Franchise; Dave Callaham Scripting, Search On For Director Of Asian Descent|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=3 December 2018|accessdate=3 December 2018}}</ref>
Shortly after Warner Bros. acquired the rights in 2002, Norrington was slated to direct a remake to the 1988 film ''[[Akira (1988 film)|Akira]]'', with [[James Robinson (writer)|James Robinson]] writing the screenplay and [[Dan Lin]] producing.<ref name="ign la 2017">{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/04/06/akira-the-tortured-history-of-the-unmade-live-action-adaptation|title=Akira: The Tortured History of the Unmade Live-Action Adaptation|first=Christopher|last=Marc|date=6 April 2017 |access-date=31 August 2017 |work=[[IGN]]}}</ref><ref>Linder, Brian (17 June 2012). "[https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/04/12/akira-hollywood-remake Akira Hollywood Remake!?]" ''IGN''. Retrieved 6 June 2020.</ref> Norrington planned to make it more appealing to Western audiences by making Kaneda and Tetsuo brothers. Following ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)|The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' underperformed at the box office in 2003, which both Norrington and Robinson were also on, the project was put on hold.<ref name="ign la 2017"/>
In 2003, Norrington's ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)|The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' was intended to spawn a [[Media franchise|film franchise]] based on further titles in the [[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen|original comic book series]], but there was little enthusiasm for a sequel due to underperformance at the box office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2003/TLOEG.php|title=The Numbers: Box Office Data|website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]]|accessdate=4 October 2014}}</ref> In 2013, after the sequel was scrapped, it was reported that [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] was ordering a pilot for the television version of ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' with [[Michael Green (writer)|Michael Green]] as writer and executive producer. If the project went to series, Norrington and showrunner [[Erwin Stoff]] would have executive produced. Neither Moore nor O'Neill would be producers on the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/alan-moores-league-extraordinary-gentlemen-fox-582372|last=Goldberg |first=Lesley |date=9 July 2013 |title=Alan Moore's 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' Gets Put Pilot Order at Fox|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |access-date=6 June 2020}}</ref> It had also been reported that the pilot episode would still be broadcast, even if Fox opted not to [[green-light]] the series.<ref>Bibel, Sara (9 July 2013). [http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/07/09/fox-orders-the-league-of-extraordinary-genltlemen-pilot/191103/ FOX Orders 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' Pilot] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130713094827/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/07/09/fox-orders-the-league-of-extraordinary-genltlemen-pilot/191103/ |date=13 July 2013 }}, [[TV by the Numbers]]. Retrieved 10 July 2013.</ref> Only a couple years after news of the television series ceased, The Tracking Board reported, on 26 May 2015 that 20th Century Fox and [[Davis Entertainment]] had agreed to develop a reboot film with hopes of launching a new franchise. The report stated that a search was underway for a director who could help "continue to develop the reboot".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tracking-board.com/tb-exclusive-fox-enters-development-on-a-reboot-of-the-league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen/|title={TB EXCLUSIVE} Fox Enters Development on "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" Reboot |date=26 May 2015 |publisher=The Tracking Board}}</ref> [[John Davis (producer)|John Davis]] told Collider in an interview that the reboot would be a female-centric film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen-reboot-female-centric/|title='League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' Reboot to Be Female-Centric|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|last=Goldberg|first=Matt|date=13 August 2015}}</ref> Since then, there have been no further announcements.
In 2007, Norrington was set to direct the remake of the 1981 fantasy film ''[[Clash of the Titans (2010 film)|Clash of the Titans]]''. However, he was unsure about his direction for the project because he did not grow up with the original. [[Louis Leterrier]], who did, contacted him through their shared agent about replacing him. Leterrier's film was released in 2010.<ref name="Phillips-2008"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Fleming|first=Michael|url=https://variety.com/2007/scene/markets-festivals/norrington-to-direct-titans-1117977672/|title=Norrington to direct ''Titans''|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=13 December 2007|accessdate=6 June 2020}}</ref>
In 2008, it was announced that Norrington would direct a reboot of ''[[The Crow (2024 film)|The Crow]]'' franchise.<ref name="Miska-2010-04"/> He left the film by 2013 and was replaced by [[F. Javier Gutiérrez]].<ref>{{Cite web|first=Sean CW|last=Korsgaard|title=Interview with James O'Barr, creator of The Crow|website=korsgaardscommentary.com|date=30 October 2014|url=http://www.korsgaardscommentary.com/2014/10/interview-james-obarr-creator-crow.html|accessdate=15 November 2014}}</ref> By July 2015, Gutiérrez had left the project and was replaced by [[Corin Hardy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.screengeek.net/2017/10/29/the-crow-reboot-to-begin-pre-production-in-february/|title=Exclusive: The Crow Reboot To Begin Pre-Production In February|last=Salcido|first=Mark|date=29 October 2017|website=Screengeek|access-date=30 October 2017}}</ref> Hardy also left the project on 31 May 2018, leaving the film in limbo.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/the-crow-remake-dead/|title='The Crow' Remake is Dead Again as Jason Momoa and Corin Hardy Exit|date=31 May 2018|work=[[/Film]]|access-date=31 May 2018}}</ref> [[The Crow (2024 film)|''The Crow'' reboot]] was eventually released in 2024, without Norrington’s involvement.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-26 |title=How Bill Skarsgård's "The Crow" Swerves From the 1994 Adaptation |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a61971534/the-crow-2024-vs-1994-biggest-differences/ |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=Esquire |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2010, Norrington was going to direct and write the supernatural action thriller ''The Lost Patrol'' to be distributed by [[Legendary Entertainment|Legendary Pictures]].<ref name="DreadCentral-2012"/>
== Independent filmmaking (2011-present) ==
Following his departure from studio filmmaking, Norrington has focused on independent projects produced single-handedly from his home studio. In 2018, Blade co-star Stephen Dorff mentioned Norrington was "making a movie at his house with miniatures," though Dorff was conflating three separate DIY projects Norrington was working on.<ref name="Wells"/>
As of November 2025, Norrington is in post-production on ''The Migrant'', a feature-length science fiction film about robots, produced for approximately $50,000. The film combines live action, practical effects, and CGI, with a 7.1 soundtrack. Norrington has described it as "the best experience of my life" and estimates completion within a year.<ref name="Wells"/>
Norrington's approach to independent filmmaking emphasises cost-effectiveness and self-sufficiency. He taught himself CGI using free software, records sound on affordable equipment, and built his own camera crane from timber purchased at Home Depot. His production methodology allows him to create feature films on micro-budgets while maintaining complete creative control.<ref name="Wells"/>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! width="65"| Director ! width="65"| Writer ! width="65"| Producer ! Notes |- | 1994 | ''[[Death Machine]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes|Associate}} | |- | 1998 | ''[[Blade (1998 film)|Blade]]'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Also made a cameo as [[Morbius]] in a deleted scene<ref name="morbius" /> |- | 2001 | ''[[The Last Minute]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | |- | 2003 | ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)|The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | |- |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0635759}}
{{Stephen Norrington}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norrington, Stephen}} [[Category:1964 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People educated at Harrow High School]] [[Category:Film directors from London]] [[Category:British visual effects artists]] [[Category:Date of birth missing (living people)]]