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Kelly Marcel (born 10 January 1974) is an English filmmaker and former actress.

Key Information

After working as a child actor in the United Kingdom, Marcel had her breakout as a screenwriter in Hollywood when her script for Saving Mr. Banks made the 2011 Black List and was quickly acquired by Disney, which released the film in 2013. She is also known for writing the 2015 film adaptation of E. L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey and the Sony's Spider-Man Universe film Venom (2018) as well as its sequels Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and Venom: The Last Dance (2024), the latter of which she directed in her directorial debut.

Marcel also created and served as executive producer of the television series Terra Nova (2011) and The Changeling (2023), for which she was also the showrunner and is credited with writing eight episodes.

Early life

[edit]

Marcel was born in London, England, and studied English literature at the University of Exeter.[1] Her father is filmmaker Terry Marcel, and she has a sister, actress Rosie Marcel.

Career

[edit]

Child acting career (1989–2003)

[edit]

Marcel worked as a child actor in the United Kingdom, playing minor roles in television series such as The Bill, Holby City, and Casualty.[2] She also had a largely non-speaking role as Young Vera in the 1994 television film adaptation of A Dark-Adapted Eye.

Early work as screenwriter (2008–2011)

[edit]

Marcel eventually quit acting to pursue writing while working part-time in Prime Time Video, a video rental shop in Battersea, London. Around the corner from the video shop was the Latchmere pub, where Tom Hardy hosted an acting workshop. Marcel and Hardy became friends, and he subsequently brought Marcel in to do uncredited rewrites on his 2008 film Bronson, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, after it ran into trouble. One of Hardy's tattoos says 'Skribe' in tribute to Marcel.[3]

While working at the video shop, she wrote a script for a TV show called Gondwanaland Highway. She wrote it for her father, who had been telling her about the supercontinent Gondwanaland and reading a Stephen Hawking book on time travel. Marcel, who had just seen Al Gore's 2006 global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth, combined these three influences into the script. Gondwanaland Highway was almost picked up by Carnival Films, the UK production company behind Downton Abbey, when producer Aaron Kaplan persuaded Marcel to bring the show to America instead—where it became the tv series Terra Nova.[4]

She sold a script about death row, titled Westbridge, to Showtime. She worked on the script with director Thomas Schlamme. Though the script went unmade, it became a calling card for Marcel in Hollywood.[4]

Hollywood breakthrough (2011–2013)

[edit]

After her two-week trip to Los Angeles and her decision not to continue working on Terra Nova, Marcel returned to the London video shop. She was approached by Ruby Films' Alison Owen to work on a project about Mary Poppins author P. L. Travers and her relationship with Walt Disney for BBC Films, based on an earlier draft by Sue Smith.[5] The script, Saving Mr. Banks, landed on the 2011 Black List, and was acquired by Disney.[6]

The film was released in 2013, directed by John Lee Hancock, and starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as P. L. Travers. Marcel and Smith shared writing credit.[7] Marcel was nominated for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 67th Annual BAFTA Awards.[8]

Box office success as screenwriter (2014–2021)

[edit]

Marcel was hired in 2012 to adapt E. L. James' bestselling erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey, with Sam Taylor-Johnson directing, after Universal Pictures and Focus Features won the rights to the Fifty Shades trilogy for $5 million in a bidding war.[9] Though the film was financially successful, grossing $571.1 million worldwide on a $40 million budget and spawning two sequels, both Marcel and Johnson expressed unhappiness with the finished film, with Marcel describing it as too painful to watch.[10] Of particular issue was James' insistence that the film preserve her original dialogue in its entirety, and threatening to boycott the film if the dialogue was rewritten.[11]

She was one of the writers on Sony's Venom adaptation, alongside Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. Directed by Ruben Fleischer, the film stars Marcel's friend and frequent collaborator Tom Hardy in the title role.[12] She returned to write the scripts for Venom's first and second sequels, Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and Venom: The Last Dance (2024), receiving sole writing credit on both films. [13] The first three Venom films were both big successes at the box office and have been by far the most financially successful of all the live-action films in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU).[14]

Success as TV and film writer, creator, showrunner, and director (2022–present)

[edit]

In October 2022, it was announced that Marcel would be making her directorial debut in 2024 with Venom: The Last Dance, in addition to writing and producing the film.[15][16] The Last Dance marks the third movie in Sony's Venom trilogy, all of which have been written or co-written by Marcel.

In September 2023, The Changeling premiered on Apple TV+ with Marcel at the show's helm as its creator, showrunner, and the credited writer for all eight episodes in the first season. Marcel worked in close, intense collaboration with author Victor LaValle in adapting his award-winning 2017 novel The Changeling into a television show with the same name for Apple TV+ that premiered in October 2023. When asked about this project, Marcel stated "I think part of being faithful to a novel whilst also expanding it for TV is finding a miraculous partner like Victor [LaValle], who will come along on the journey with you,” adding that LaValle was on-set every day and encouraged her to experiment with his story. LaValle echoed similar comments about his admiration for Marcel: "The best kind of leader says, 'All of you have power and you come to me and I will take every good thing, every good idea you have, and run with it. And Kelly was such a model of that kind of confidence. I felt very honored."[17] The show was well received by critics, with Allison Picurro of TV Guide writing that "Anyone willing to go along for the ride is in for an enchanting storybook of a series, one of the year's most singular offerings."

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Director Writer Producer
2013 Saving Mr. Banks No Yes No
2015 Fifty Shades of Grey No Yes No
2018 Venom No Yes Executive
2021 Cruella No Story No
Venom: Let There Be Carnage No Yes Yes
2024 Venom: The Last Dance Yes Yes Yes

Other roles

Year Title Role
1977 Prey Child (uncredited)
1989 Great Balls of Fire! Teenage Girl #2
1991 Turbulence Ruth
1994 Mainline Run Sarah
2000 Strong Language Phillipa
2008 Bronson Script editor; reported to have done an emergency final rewrite of script (uncredited)[3]
2010 The Heavy Script editor
2015 Mad Max: Fury Road Uncredited script work;[18] thanked in credits

Television

[edit]
Year Title Writer Executive
Producer 		Creator Notes
2011 Terra Nova Yes Yes Yes Wrote episode "Genesis: Part 1"
2023 The Changeling Yes Yes Yes Showrunner; wrote 8 episodes

Acting roles

Year Title Role Notes
1989–2005 The Bill Various 5 episodes
1992 Casualty Vicky Morris Episode "Rates of Exchange"
1993 What You Lookin' At? Elaine
Woof! Miranda Episode "Miranda"
1994 The Barbara Vine Mysteries Young Vera Series 3 ("A Dark-Adapted Eye")
Love Hurts Louise Episode "Blue Heaven"
Wild Justice Melissa Stride TV movie
1997 Dangerfield Elaine Foster Episode "Adam"
2003 Holby City Rachel Hughes Episode "Endgame"

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Kelly Marcel

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Kelly Marcel (born 1974) is an English , , director, and , best known for creating the Apple TV+ horror fantasy series The Changeling (2023), writing and directing the final installment of Sony's Venom film trilogy, : The Last Dance (2024), and scripting high-profile adaptations including (2015) and (2013). Born in to filmmaker , who directed the cult fantasy film (1980), Marcel initially pursued acting, appearing in supporting roles on British television series such as , , and Casualty during the 1990s and early 2000s. She transitioned to writing after working at a video store, beginning with musical theater; her early credits include contributing to the production of Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical. In collaboration with actor , she co-founded a theater company and co-wrote the play The Honey Kid, which premiered in 2008. Marcel's screenwriting career gained momentum in television with her co-creation of the Steven Spielberg-produced sci-fi series Terra Nova (2011), a high-budget Fox drama about a family traveling back to prehistoric times that was canceled after one season despite critical interest in her scripts. She broke into major film work by rewriting the script for Bronson (2008), directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, and contributing uncredited story elements to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). Her first credited feature screenplay, Saving Mr. Banks, earned widespread acclaim for its portrayal of Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers and Walt Disney, starring Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. This led to her adaptation of E.L. James's erotic novel for Fifty Shades of Grey, which grossed over $570 million worldwide despite mixed reviews. Marcel's involvement with the Venom franchise began as co-writer on the 2018 original, starring Tom Hardy, and continued through Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), culminating in her directorial debut with Venom: The Last Dance, which concluded the trilogy's narrative arc focused on Eddie Brock's symbiotic relationship with the alien Venom. More recently, she served as showrunner and executive producer on The Changeling, adapting Victor LaValle's novel into an eight-episode series exploring folklore and urban myths in modern New York City, starring LaKeith Stanfield.

Early life and family

Early life

Kelly Marcel was born on January 10, 1974, in , . She grew up in Richmond, part of a theatrical family that included her father, , known for works like (1980), and her mother, actress Lindsey Brook. As the eldest of three siblings—her sister is an actress and her brother Luke works in —Marcel was immersed in a creative environment from a young age. During her childhood in 1970s and 1980s , Marcel experienced early exposure to film and theater through her family's professions, including a brief appearance at age three in the low-budget Prey, produced by her father. Her father fostered her imagination by drawing intricate, inventive pictures for her and her siblings to color, encouraging a belief in limitless with phrases like "There's no such thing as impossible." Describing herself as a "" and "" in her youth, she nonetheless developed an affinity for storytelling and amid this supportive setting. Marcel attended Waldegrave School for Girls in , where she showed an early interest in English despite struggling academically and receiving reports criticizing her lack of focus and discipline. She left school at age 15, having taken her GCSEs a year early with mostly D grades, and began pursuing interests in shortly thereafter, inspired in part by her family's artistic endeavors.

Family background

Kelly Marcel was born on 10 January 1974 in , , to film and television director and actress Lindsey Brook. Her father, , is known for directing fantasy adventure films such as (1980) and The Sword of the Valiant (1984), which contributed to a household immersed in the creative processes of filmmaking. Marcel's mother, Lindsey Brook, appeared in British television series including and , further embedding the family in the entertainment industry. The couple divorced in 1995, after which Brook relocated to , leading to a period of estrangement from her children. Marcel has two younger siblings: sister , an actress best known for her long-running role as in the medical drama (2005–2022), and brother Luke Marcel. The Marcel family's deep ties to British film and television provided Marcel with early immersion in , including frequent home screenings of films like Straw Dogs and series, fostering her exposure to storytelling and creative pursuits without typical media restrictions. Terry Marcel's influence was particularly formative, instilling a belief in limitless through his detailed drawings and that "there's no such thing as impossible," which shaped the family's dynamics around artistic ambition and industry access. This collective involvement in the sector granted Marcel an insider's vantage point to the profession from a young age, centered in their home.

Career

Acting career (1989–2003)

Kelly Marcel began her professional acting career at the age of 15 in 1989, securing minor supporting roles in prominent British television series that helped establish her presence in the industry. Her debut came with an appearance on the long-running The Bill, where she portrayed various characters across multiple episodes throughout the 1990s, including Bridget Dawson, Marie Spencer, Shelley McGuire, Selina Leston, and an unnamed girl. These bit parts, often involving everyday civilians or short-term suspects, showcased her versatility in ensemble-driven narratives and built essential on-set experience. Throughout the 1990s, Marcel continued to accumulate television credits, appearing in other popular UK dramas that highlighted her as a reliable supporting performer. She featured in episodes of medical series such as Casualty in 1994, playing a patient in a high-stakes scenario, and Love Hurts that same year, contributing to storylines exploring interpersonal relationships. Additional roles included Elaine Foster in the 1997 crime drama Dangerfield and a part in the 1994 thriller miniseries Wild Justice, alongside a non-speaking cameo as Young Vera in the television adaptation . In 2000, she took on the role of Phillipa in the Strong Language, a gritty exploration of urban youth, and appeared in an episode of Doctors. Her family's established ties in the British entertainment industry facilitated these early opportunities, providing initial access to auditions and networks. Marcel's involvement extended to musical theater during this period, where she contributed to productions that blended performance and creative elements in London's fringe scene. In 2003, she appeared as Rachel Hughes in an episode of , depicting a character in a dramatic scene that involved intense emotional delivery. Despite these achievements, Marcel faced typical challenges as a young in a competitive field, including the instability of recurring bit roles and the difficulty of breaking into lead positions without formal training beyond her practical experience. After over a decade of such work, which spanned from age 15 to 29, she chose to step away from acting around 2003, reflecting on the limitations of the path and seeking new directions while leveraging the connections she had cultivated in television and theater circles. This period not only honed her understanding of storytelling and character dynamics but also solidified her industry relationships that would prove invaluable later.

Transition to screenwriting (2004–2011)

Following the conclusion of her acting career in 2003, Kelly Marcel shifted her focus to , drawing on her industry experience to inform her nascent efforts in the field. Lacking formal education—she had left school at 15 without qualifications—Marcel was largely self-taught, honing her craft by analyzing television shows like and studying scripts during downtime at her job in a video rental store, Prime Time Video in . This period of freelance writing in the mid-2000s was marked by persistent challenges, including numerous rejection letters and difficulty securing produced work as a newcomer without connections or credentials. Marcel's early breakthroughs came through uncredited script doctoring and adaptations. By 2008, she contributed uncredited revisions to the screenplay for the biographical film Bronson, forging a key professional relationship with actor in the process. Additionally, she adapted the controversial adult film into a musical for the , earning positive reviews and an agent, though the production faced issues. These freelance opportunities, often low-paid or unpaid, underscored the hurdles of breaking in, as Marcel balanced writing with part-time work while building her portfolio. In the late 2000s, Marcel expanded into theater and co-developed original pilots. She co-wrote an early about , which sold to but remained unproduced. In 2010, she co-founded the Bad Dog Theatre Company in with and writer Brett C. Leonard, aiming to produce new works, though initial projects were delayed by their commitments. These endeavors reflected her growing confidence amid ongoing struggles, including self-funding a pitching trip to to promote her ideas. Marcel's transition culminated in 2010–2011 with the development of the sci-fi pilot Terra Nova, an original concept she pitched with American writer . The script, envisioning a family transported to a prehistoric world, was acquired by and Steven Spielberg's for a 13-episode series budgeted at over $60 million, marking her first major sale to Hollywood. Despite initial doubts about its feasibility due to high costs—"I really didn’t think it would ever get made because I thought it was just way too expensive"—the deal opened doors to U.S. opportunities, positioning her for broader industry recognition by late 2011. She also sold another pilot, Westbridge, to Showtime around the same time.

Breakthrough projects (2011–2013)

In 2011, Kelly Marcel achieved her first major television success as co-creator and writer of the series Terra Nova, a science-fiction drama executive-produced by . Inspired by her father's stories, Stephen Hawking's theories on time travel, and environmental concerns raised in , Marcel developed the concept—originally titled Gondwanaland Highway—into a 15-page treatment and a 30-page series bible while working at a video rental shop. She co-created the show with and penned the two-hour pilot episode, which depicts a family transported from a dystopian 2149 to a prehistoric colony. The series premiered to mixed , earning a score of 64 out of 100 for its ambitious visuals and family dynamics but criticism for clunky exposition and pacing issues. Despite high anticipation, Terra Nova was canceled after one 13-episode season in March 2012, primarily due to its exorbitant production costs of approximately $4 million per episode, which exceeded network expectations for viewership returns. Marcel's contributions to Terra Nova emphasized character-driven storytelling amid speculative elements, focusing on family bonds and survival themes to ground the high-concept premise. Although she departed the production early to pursue other projects, her involvement marked a pivotal shift from British theater and television to American network TV, securing her a foothold in Hollywood through Spielberg's endorsement. The experience honed her skills in large-scale collaboration and historical world-building, which she later applied to biographical narratives. Post-Terra Nova, Marcel signed with a top agency and fielded multiple development deals, positioning her as an emerging talent capable of blending emotional depth with commercial appeal. Transitioning to film, Marcel co-wrote the screenplay for (2013), a biographical directed by that chronicles author 's reluctant collaboration with to adapt Mary Poppins into a . Commissioned by producer , Marcel expanded upon an existing 2003 script by Sue Smith, shifting the focus to Travers's 1961 Los Angeles meetings with Disney while interweaving flashbacks to her Australian childhood for deeper emotional resonance. Her research drew from Valerie Lawson's biography Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P.L. Travers and Disney archives, including 32 hours of Travers's negotiation tapes, to ensure historical accuracy in depicting Travers's prickly personality, her father's influence on Mr. Banks, and the creative tensions involved. Marcel prioritized character development, portraying Travers as a complex figure shaped by personal trauma rather than a one-dimensional , which added layers to the biopic's exploration of artistic compromise. The Saving Mr. Banks script landed on the 2011 Black List, Hollywood's prestigious showcase of unproduced screenplays, generating early Oscar buzz for its witty dialogue and insightful take on creativity before the film's December 2013 release. This recognition solidified Marcel's entry into the studio system, as Disney acquired the project and provided unprecedented access to materials, fostering her growth as a screenwriter adept at historical dramas. Her work on the film, credited jointly with Smith, highlighted her ability to balance factual fidelity with dramatic invention, such as fictionalizing certain interactions for narrative flow, and established her as a sought-after voice for character-centric biopics.

Major film successes (2014–2017)

Kelly Marcel's screenplay for , co-written with Sue Smith, achieved significant commercial and critical success following its December 2013 release, with its awards-season prominence extending into 2014. The film, directed by , depicted the real-life collaboration between and author in adapting her Mary Poppins books into the 1964 musical classic, earning praise for its emotional depth and performances by and . It grossed $83.3 million domestically and $117.9 million worldwide against a $35 million budget, marking a profitable venture for Disney. Critics lauded the screenplay's balance of humor and pathos, with aggregating a 79% approval rating based on 262 reviews, highlighting its "aggressively likable and sentimental" tribute to Disney's legacy. In 2015, Marcel adapted E.L. James's bestselling novel Fifty Shades of Grey for the screen, navigating intense studio and author oversight during production. Despite Marcel's efforts to deepen character motivations and refine dialogue, James vetoed substantial changes, leading Marcel to describe the final film as "too painful" to watch due to its adherence to the book's original lines. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, the erotic drama starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan opened to $85.1 million domestically and amassed $570.9 million worldwide on a $40 million budget, becoming one of the highest-grossing R-rated films at the time and spawning sequels. Though critically divisive with a 25% Rotten Tomatoes score from 279 reviews for its "clunky" execution, the adaptation's massive audience turnout underscored Marcel's ability to deliver franchise-launching material under pressure. During this period, Marcel contributed to the story development for Disney's live-action Cruella origin film, announced in October 2015, collaborating with Steve Zissis on the concept for the villainous character from 101 Dalmatians. This project further demonstrated her versatility in handling high-stakes studio adaptations, building on the creative challenges faced in Saving Mr. Banks and Fifty Shades of Grey. The combined successes elevated Marcel's reputation as a screenwriter capable of blending literary adaptations with broad commercial appeal, securing her position among Hollywood's sought-after talents for major productions.

Venom franchise involvement (2018–2021)

Kelly Marcel contributed to the Venom film series as a , beginning with the 2018 original, where she co-wrote the alongside and , infusing the script with humor to balance the film's action and horror elements. Her collaboration with lead actor was integral, though uncredited for writing; Hardy provided extensive input on character development during production, drawing from his prior experience to shape Eddie Brock's arc. Directed by , the film grossed $855 million worldwide, marking a commercial success for and establishing the franchise within the studio's Universe. Marcel returned for the 2021 sequel, , receiving sole screenplay credit while sharing story credit with Hardy, and expanding her role to include producing duties alongside , , and others. The collaboration intensified, with the duo brainstorming via for months before Marcel drafted the script over three months, incorporating Hardy's ideas on plot and tone without his direct writing. Directed by , the film introduced plot innovations like a mid-film between Eddie and , heightening their "odd couple" tension, and grossed over $506 million globally despite challenges. In her creative decisions, Marcel deepened symbiote lore by portraying Venom as a low-level "janitor" in the alien with limited knowledge of his species, adding humor through his naive reactions, such as mistaking Carnage for "the red one." She drew from for specifics, like the symbiotes' sustenance via chocolate and chicken, while innovating character dynamics: Eddie and 's relationship evolved into a rom-com-style reconciliation, contrasted with the obsessive, symbiotic romance between and Shriek. These choices blended , and emotional stakes, differentiating the films from typical fare. Marcel's work facilitated the Venom series' expansion into , with the 2021 sequel's mid-credits scene teasing multiverse connections to broader Marvel properties, coordinated with . Behind the scenes, she and Hardy envisioned a tonal from the first film's setup to the sequel's intensified action, conducting in-person sessions with Hutch Parker to refine storylines and ensure franchise cohesion during the 2018–2021 phase. On-set, real-time script adjustments via earpieces allowed for , solidifying the series' style and box-office viability.

Directing and recent television work (2022–present)

In October 2022, Kelly Marcel was announced as the director for Venom: The Last Dance (2024), marking her feature directorial debut while also serving as writer and producer on the film, which concludes the Venom trilogy she helped shape through her screenwriting on the prior installments. The project provided creative closure to the Eddie Brock/Venom storyline, with Marcel and star Tom Hardy envisioning the series as a trilogy from the outset, emphasizing themes of symbiosis and farewell in this final chapter. Released on October 25, 2024, the film opened to $51 million domestically and achieved a worldwide gross of $501 million (as of January 2025) against a $110 million budget, solidifying the franchise's commercial success despite mixed critical reception. Shifting to television, Marcel served as showrunner, writer, and executive producer on the 2023 Apple TV+ miniseries The Changeling, an eight-episode adaptation of Victor LaValle's 2017 novel that blends horror, folklore, and a modern fable of parenthood. The series explores themes of family dynamics and generational trauma through the story of a young couple facing postpartum psychosis and mythical elements like changelings and enchanted islands, expanding the novel's perspectives on maternal struggles and inherited secrets for a visually evocative narrative. Premiering on September 8, 2023, the miniseries received praise for its genre-bending approach but has not been renewed for a second season as of late 2025. Looking ahead, Marcel is attached to direct Ferryman (TBA), a fantasy adaptation of Claire McFall's YA novel trilogy, produced by , with starring; the project, announced in 2019 and intended as her initial directorial effort, remains in development without a confirmed release as of 2025. Post-2022, Marcel has balanced her television work on The Changeling with high-profile film directing on Venom: The Last Dance, reflecting in 2024 interviews on how helming the trilogy finale accelerated her transition from to , allowing greater control over narrative vision while navigating the demands of blockbuster production. As of November 2025, no additional new projects have been announced. This evolution has positioned her as a versatile force in both mediums, with the directing experience enhancing her ability to infuse personal themes of relationships and transformation across projects.

Awards and nominations

Film awards

Kelly Marcel's contributions to film screenwriting have garnered a mix of critical accolades and satirical recognition, reflecting the diverse reception of her projects. In 2014, she received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for her work on , acknowledging her emergence as a prominent British talent in Hollywood biography drama. This film, which she co-wrote with Sue Smith, achieved commercial success with a global box office of over $114 million, underscoring the impact of her debut feature script. Her adaptation of (2015) earned her the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst in , a satirical honor from the Razzie Awards that highlighted the film's controversial reception among critics despite its massive popularity. The movie grossed nearly $570 million worldwide, demonstrating how Marcel's drove one of the highest-earning romantic dramas of the decade, even amid the Razzie critique. Earlier in her career, Marcel was honored with the New Talent Award at the and TV Awards in , recognizing her screenplay contributions to projects like and her upcoming adaptation of . Venom: The Last Dance (2024) received a nomination for Best at the in 2025.

Television honors

Marcel's contributions to television have earned her recognition for innovative storytelling in genre programming. In 2013, she was honored with the New Talent Award at the Women in Film and TV Awards, acknowledging her breakout screenwriting work that bridged British television episodes and high-profile projects. As creator and executive producer of the 2011 sci-fi series Terra Nova, Marcel helped garner industry acclaim for the show, which received a nomination for Best Network Series at the 38th , highlighting its ambitious blend of family drama and prehistoric adventure. The series' technical achievements also led to Visual Effects Society Award nominations, underscoring Marcel's role in elevating on network television. Her showrunning on the 2023 Apple TV+ limited series The Changeling, an of Victor LaValle's novel, brought further honors, including the 2023 Auteur Award from Honors, shared with director , for their bold horror-fantasy vision exploring motherhood and . The series earned praise from critics for its atmospheric and received nominations and a win in categories at the 2024 Canadian Cinema Editors Awards, reflecting Marcel's impact on prestige genre television.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleDirectorNotes
2013WriterScreenplay based on the book Mary Poppins, She Wrote by Valerie Lawson.
2015WriterScreenplay adapted from the novel by .
2018WriterScreenplay co-written with , , and Will Beall; based on .
2021CruellaWriterStory credit, shared with and ; based on Dodie Smith's .
2021[Venom: Let There Be Carnage](/page/Venom: Let There Be Carnage)Writer, ProducerScreenplay; produced under Pascal Pictures.
2024[Venom: The Last Dance](/page/Venom: The Last Dance)Writer, Producer, DirectorKelly MarcelScreenplay and story co-written with ; her feature directorial debut.
TBAFerrymanWriter, Producer, DirectorKelly MarcelScreenplay adaptation of Claire McFall's YA novel; produced by ; starring .

Television

Kelly Marcel's television career began with acting roles before transitioning to writing and producing. She appeared in supporting roles on British television series including (as Bridget Dawson, Marie Spencer, Shelley McGuire, Selina Leston, and others), (as Rachel Hughes), and as Vicky Morris in one episode of the long-running medical drama Casualty on in 1992. Marcel served as creator, writer, and on Terra Nova (2011), a series on that ran for one season comprising 13 episodes, focusing on a family transported to a prehistoric era. She contributed to multiple episodes, including the pilot "Genesis." More recently, Marcel created and showran The Changeling (2023) for Apple TV+, an eight-episode horror fantasy limited series adapted from Victor LaValle's novel. She served as . No uncredited television contributions have been publicly documented.

References

  1. https://www.filmink.com.au/unsung-auteurs-kelly-marcel/
  2. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/venom-the-last-dance-director-tom-hardy-1236043127/
  3. https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/the-changeling-auteurs-kelly-marcel-melina-matsoukas-interview-1234930357/
  4. https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/kelly-s-heroics-how-the-british-writer-behind-tv-s-most-expensive-drama-cracked-la-2362573.html
  5. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0545150/bio/
  6. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/21/kelly-marcel-disney-hollywood-scriptwriter-fifty-shades-of-grey
  7. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0545150/
  8. https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/meet-the-london-writer-now-working-with-steven-spielberg-6439436.html
  9. https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-story-interview-kelly-marcel-892c1e358e7f
  10. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0111643/bio/
  11. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/bill-star-rosies-mum-penniless-2389318
  12. https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-story-interview-kelly-marcel-950258e48524
  13. https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/kelly-marcel/credits/3000435947/
  14. https://www.slashfilm.com/529438/interview-kelly-marcel-on-writing-saving-mr-banks/
  15. https://www.metacritic.com/tv/terra-nova/
  16. https://www.cbr.com/terra-nova-deserves-streaming-reboot/
  17. https://reactormag.com/why-we-all-should-have-been-nicer-to-terra-nova/
  18. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-xpm-2013-dec-23-la-et-mn-writing-saving-mr-banks-story.html
  19. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/12/kelly-marcel-interview-saving-mr-banks
  20. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/saving_mr_banks_2013
  21. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Saving-Mr-Banks
  22. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/10/fifty-shades-of-grey-screenwriter-says-film-is-too-painful-to-watch
  23. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3980494337/
  24. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fifty_shades_of_grey
  25. https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2015/03/05/box-office-fifty-shades-becomes-6th-r-rated-film-to-top-500m/
  26. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/cruella-fifty-shades-writer-kelly-830467/
  27. https://collider.com/kelly-marcel-saving-mr-banks-interview/
  28. https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/venom-review-tom-hardy-michelle-williams-1202965030/
  29. https://www.cbr.com/venom-2-script-tom-hardy-writing/
  30. https://deadline.com/2019/03/venom-box-office-profit-2018-1202583895/
  31. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Venom-Let-There-be-Carnage
  32. https://www.vulture.com/2021/10/how-kelly-marcel-wrote-venom-let-there-be-carnage.html
  33. https://discussingfilm.net/2021/10/04/kelly-marcel-on-building-let-there-be-carnage-with-tom-hardy-exclusive-interview/
  34. https://variety.com/2022/film/news/venom-3-director-kelly-marcel-tom-hardy-1235417111/
  35. https://deadline.com/2022/10/venom-3-kelly-marcel-set-to-direct-next-installment-starring-tom-hardy-1235157025/
  36. https://deadline.com/2024/10/venom-the-last-dance-tom-hardy-kelly-marcel-trilogy-ending-1236159309/
  37. https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/01/03/venom-the-last-dance-ends-its-theatrical-run-how-much-did-it-make/
  38. https://deadline.com/2024/11/venom-the-last-dance-global-box-office-milestone-1236174513/
  39. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Venom-The-Last-Dance-%282024%29
  40. https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2023/07/apple-tv-reveals-first-look-at-the-changeling-new-drama-starring-and-executive-produced-by-lakeith-stanfield-premiering-globally-friday-september-8/
  41. https://lithub.com/the-changeling-brings-a-genre-bending-fable-of-family-to-the-screen/
  42. https://www.cbr.com/the-changeling-apple-tv-underrated-horror-show/
  43. https://deadline.com/2021/10/ferryman-louis-partridge-to-star-kelly-marcel-legendary-film-1234855352/
  44. https://www.movieinsider.com/m17201/ferryman
  45. https://screenrant.com/venom-the-last-dance-tom-hardy-kelly-marcel-interview/
  46. https://www.bafta.org/media-centre/press-releases/nominations-announced-for-the-ee-british-academy-film-awards-in-2014/
  47. https://deadline.com/2016/02/razzie-awards-winners-2016-full-list-golden-raspberry-awards-1201710388/
  48. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Fifty-Shades-of-Grey
  49. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/fifty-shades-grey-screenwriter-kelly-662969/
  50. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16366836/awards/
  51. https://www.indiewire.com/awards/industry/2023-indiewire-honors-winners-1234927474/
  52. https://www.company3.com/the-changeling-recognized-at-the-2024-cce-awards/
  53. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3228774/fullcredits
  54. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16366836/fullcredits
  55. https://deadline.com/2019/02/ferryman-claire-mcfall-kelly-marcel-directing-deal-legendary-entertainment-1202549959/
  56. https://www.themoviedb.org/person/940376-kelly-marcel?language=en-US
  57. https://terranova.fandom.com/wiki/Kelly_Marcel
  58. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8559532/fullcredits
  59. https://tv.apple.com/us/person/kelly-marcel/umc.cpc.54g22behqiqfsv89mp3hap0xs
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