# Christina Hodson
**Christina Hodson** is a British screenwriter known for writing the films *Bumblebee* (2018), *Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)* (2020), and *The Flash* (2023). A London native and former development executive, she became a prominent blockbuster writer after three of her spec scripts reached the Black List in 2011, and she is the first woman to originate and write a film in the [Transformers](https://www.edgepedia.org/transformers) franchise.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Background | London native; former development executive (including at Focus Features) who switched to screenwriting in 2011[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html) • [2](https://www.slashfilm.com/572163/birds-of-prey-screenwriter-interview/) |
| Career start | Three of her spec scripts made the Black List in 2011[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html) |
| Produced credits | *Shut In* (2016), *Unforgettable* (2017), *Bumblebee* (2018), *The Flash* (2023)[3](https://www.movieinsider.com/p26835/christina-hodson) |
| Transformers first | First woman to originate and write a film in the $4.3-billion Transformers franchise[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html) |
| DC work | Wrote *Birds of Prey*, a *Batgirl* screenplay, and *The Flash*; reported in January 2026 as writer of DC Studios' *The Brave and the Bold*[4](https://time.com/5497063/upcoming-dc-movies/) • [5](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/dcs-new-batman-movie-the-brave-and-the-bold-finally-has-its-writer-reuniting-the-team-that-brought-us-box-office-bomb-the-flash/) |
| Gender-balance tool | Conceived the gender-analysis feature in Highland 2 screenwriting software with John August[6](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/film-scripts-gender-balanced-software-bechdel-test-christina-hodson-oscars-a8361336.html) |
| Advocacy | Involved with Time's Up, the Hollywood organization addressing industry inequities[6](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/film-scripts-gender-balanced-software-bechdel-test-christina-hodson-oscars-a8361336.html) |
## Early career
Hodson worked in film development before writing, including as an executive at [Focus Features](https://www.edgepedia.org/focus-features). She has said she initially chose thrillers as a business decision, picking projects that were makeable but not expensive, while wanting to write large franchise films; her favorite movie is *Terminator 2: Judgment Day*, which she cites as a model of a big tentpole film that stays intimate.[2](https://www.slashfilm.com/572163/birds-of-prey-screenwriter-interview/) • [7](https://collider.com/bumblebee-christina-hodson-interview/) In 2011, after switching from development to screenwriting, three of her spec scripts made the Black List, the annual survey of Hollywood's most liked unproduced screenplays.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html) Within a few years she was hired to reboot *The Fugitive* for Warner Bros., which led to her work in the Transformers writers room.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html)
Her first produced credits were the thrillers *Shut In* (2016) and *Unforgettable* (2017), starring [Katherine Heigl](https://www.edgepedia.org/katherine-heigl) and [Rosario Dawson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rosario-dawson).[3](https://www.movieinsider.com/p26835/christina-hodson) • [6](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/film-scripts-gender-balanced-software-bechdel-test-christina-hodson-oscars-a8361336.html) An unproduced 2014 screenplay, the female-led science-fiction project *The Eden Project*, is what she credits with putting her on the radar of Paramount and Hasbro.[8](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/bumblebee-christina-hodson-interview-transformers/)
## Bumblebee
Hodson joined the writers room that Paramount and Hasbro assembled in 2015 to develop new directions for the Transformers franchise, and she was hired as screenwriter on *Bumblebee* in November 2016.[8](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/bumblebee-christina-hodson-interview-transformers/) • [3](https://www.movieinsider.com/p26835/christina-hodson) Directed by [Travis Knight](https://www.edgepedia.org/travis-knight), the film is set in 1987, when the Autobot Bumblebee takes refuge in a small Californian beach town and forms a bond with Charlie, an 18-year-old played by [Hailee Steinfeld](https://www.edgepedia.org/hailee-steinfeld).[7](https://collider.com/bumblebee-christina-hodson-interview/)
Hodson has described the story as deliberately personal: she drew on [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)'s remark that the appeal of the original 2007 *Transformers* was the simple idea of "a boy and his car," and inverted it into the story of a broken girl and a broken car healing each other, inspired by her own memory of first turning the ignition in her father's car at age 12.[9](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bumblebee-screenwriter-hints-birds-prey-235306489.html) The film earned the best reviews of the Transformers series to that point, and producer [Lorenzo di Bonaventura](https://www.edgepedia.org/lorenzo-di-bonaventura) framed it as a change of rhythm for the franchise, a scaled-down, more intimate entry.[9](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bumblebee-screenwriter-hints-birds-prey-235306489.html) • [1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html)
## DC films
While *Bumblebee* was in release, Hodson was already attached to two DC projects: *Birds of Prey*, starring [Margot Robbie](https://www.edgepedia.org/margot-robbie) as [Harley Quinn](https://www.edgepedia.org/harley-quinn) and directed by [Cathy Yan](https://www.edgepedia.org/cathy-yan), and a standalone *Batgirl* film for Warner Bros.[7](https://collider.com/bumblebee-christina-hodson-interview/) She has said she fell for Harley Quinn's emotional depth beneath a light, fun exterior, and that Robbie, as producer, read every draft and gave detailed notes.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html) *Birds of Prey* underperformed at the box office but was well received by critics.[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/dcs-new-batman-movie-the-brave-and-the-bold-finally-has-its-writer-reuniting-the-team-that-brought-us-box-office-bomb-the-flash/)
She went on to write *The Flash* (2023), directed by [Andy Muschietti](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-muschietti), and wrote the screenplay for *Batgirl*, which Warner Bros. scrapped in post-production and never released.[10](https://time.com/6083354/suicide-squad-dc-movies-future/) In January 2026, [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) reported that [DC Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-studios) had tapped Hodson to write *The Brave and the Bold*, the DC Universe's Batman film, reuniting her with Muschietti; the news drew mixed reactions from fans, and DC Studios co-head James Gunn defended the hire, saying a writer's work should not be judged solely by films others directed.[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/dcs-new-batman-movie-the-brave-and-the-bold-finally-has-its-writer-reuniting-the-team-that-brought-us-box-office-bomb-the-flash/) • [11](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/james-gunn-defends-the-flash-writer-set-to-pen-the-dcus-upcoming-batman-movie-i-dont-think-you-can-judge-my-writing-based-on-films-others-directed/)
## Gender-balance tools and advocacy
Hodson, who specializes in female-driven action films and is involved with Time's Up, originated the idea of screenwriting software that measures gender balance in a script. She approached screenwriter and software developer John August, creator of the app Highland, and within weeks Highland 2 launched with a free gender-analysis tool that tabulates the number of male and female roles and how much each speaks.[6](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/film-scripts-gender-balanced-software-bechdel-test-christina-hodson-oscars-a8361336.html) She has said the results surprised her: despite writing heroine-centered films, she expected all her scripts to be over 50 percent female, and they were not. She describes the tool as a way for writers to catch unconscious bias in their own work before casting and production decisions lock it in.[6](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/film-scripts-gender-balanced-software-bechdel-test-christina-hodson-oscars-a8361336.html)
## Producing and mentorship
Hodson has moved into producing to gain more control over the stories she develops; her projects have included work on the story of Barbara Hillary, who at age 75 became the first Black woman known to reach the [North Pole](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-pole), including fundraising, a memoir, a feature film, and a television series about her early years.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html) With Margot Robbie's LuckyChap Entertainment and her own Hodson Exports, she ran a monthlong all-women screenwriting lab beginning in November 2019, in which eight writers developed original action films from loglines; almost every project was sold during a weeklong roadshow to major buyers, with the two companies attached to produce.[12](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/every-member-margot-robbie-christina-161624637.html)
## Approach and reception
Hodson has said every project she has written so far has been female-driven, a deliberate choice rooted in growing up without seeing heroes who looked like her on screen; as a mixed-race child watching Hollywood blockbusters, she wanted the adventure roles that went to men.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html) Her stated aim is to write big films that feel intimate, in the mode of *Terminator 2*.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html)
Reception of her produced work has varied by film. *Bumblebee* is widely regarded as one of the better Transformers films,[13](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/entertainment/the-brave-and-the-bolds-writer-has-seemingly-been-named-and-batman-fans-arent-pleased-with-whos-been-picked-to-pen-the-dcu-movie) *Birds of Prey* earned critical praise despite weak box office,[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/dcs-new-batman-movie-the-brave-and-the-bold-finally-has-its-writer-reuniting-the-team-that-brought-us-box-office-bomb-the-flash/) and *The Flash* was a box-office failure that contributed to the end of the DC Extended Universe era.[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/dcs-new-batman-movie-the-brave-and-the-bold-finally-has-its-writer-reuniting-the-team-that-brought-us-box-office-bomb-the-flash/)
## References
1. [Jen Yamato, "'Bumblebee' screenwriter Christina Hodson is shaping Hollywood's blockbuster future — and centering female stories," Los Angeles Times, November 1, 2018](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-christina-hodson-bumblebee-harley-quinn-20181101-story.html)
2. ["'Birds Of Prey' Writer Christina Hodson On Writing Harley Quinn And How 'Trainspotting' Influences Her Writing," /Film](https://www.slashfilm.com/572163/birds-of-prey-screenwriter-interview/)
3. [Christina Hodson filmography, Movie Insider](https://www.movieinsider.com/p26835/christina-hodson)
4. ["Here's a Complete List of All the Upcoming DC Movies," Time](https://time.com/5497063/upcoming-dc-movies/)
5. ["DC's new Batman movie The Brave and the Bold finally has its writer," GamesRadar+, January 2026](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/dcs-new-batman-movie-the-brave-and-the-bold-finally-has-its-writer-reuniting-the-team-that-brought-us-box-office-bomb-the-flash/)
6. [Melena Ryzik, "Is your script gender-balanced? The new test helping filmmakers get it right," The Independent, May 21, 2018](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/film-scripts-gender-balanced-software-bechdel-test-christina-hodson-oscars-a8361336.html)
7. [Christina Radish, "Bumblebee Writer Christina Hodson on the Amblin Tone, Birds of Prey, More," Collider, December 20, 2018](https://collider.com/bumblebee-christina-hodson-interview/)
8. [Scott Huver, "Interview: 'Bumblebee' Writer Talks Transformers, Hailee Steinfeld, and Vulnerable Robot Cars," ComicBook.com, December 20, 2018](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/bumblebee-christina-hodson-interview-transformers/)
9. ["'Bumblebee' Screenwriter Hints About 'Birds of Prey,' 'Batgirl' and Why She Writes About Female Superheroes," Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bumblebee-screenwriter-hints-birds-prey-235306489.html)
10. ["Here Are All the Upcoming DCEU Movies and TV Shows After The Suicide Squad," Time, August 2021](https://time.com/6083354/suicide-squad-dc-movies-future/)
11. ["James Gunn defends The Flash writer set to pen the DCU's upcoming Batman movie," GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/james-gunn-defends-the-flash-writer-set-to-pen-the-dcus-upcoming-batman-movie-i-dont-think-you-can-judge-my-writing-based-on-films-others-directed/)
12. ["Every Member of Margot Robbie and Christina Hodson's All-Women Screenwriting Lab Has Sold a Feature Film," Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/every-member-margot-robbie-christina-161624637.html)
13. ["The Brave and the Bold's writer has seemingly been named," TechRadar, January 2026](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/entertainment/the-brave-and-the-bolds-writer-has-seemingly-been-named-and-batman-fans-arent-pleased-with-whos-been-picked-to-pen-the-dcu-movie)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Directors, producers, and screenwriters › Screenwriters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license