# Peyton Reed
**Peyton Tucker Reed** (born 1964) is an American director of film, television, and commercials, known for the comedies *Bring It On*, *Down with Love*, *The Break-Up*, and *Yes Man* and for the Marvel superhero films *Ant-Man* (2015), *Ant-Man and the Wasp* (2018), and *Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania* (2023).[13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0715636/) He has also directed episodes of the [Star Wars](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-wars) series *The Mandalorian*.[1](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34598353/the-mandalorian-peyton-reed/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1964, Raleigh, North Carolina[2](https://www.martincid.com/movies/directors-movies-en/peyton-reed-from-comedy-hits-to-superhero-success/) |
| Feature debut | *Bring It On* (2000), a number one box office hit, about $90.5 million worldwide on an $11 million budget[3](https://tvovermind.com/peyton-reeds-best-movies-and-tv-shows-ranked/) |
| Marvel films | *Ant-Man* (2015), *Ant-Man and the Wasp* (2018), *Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania* (2023); *Ant-Man* grossed more than $519 million worldwide[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peyton_reed) • [3](https://tvovermind.com/peyton-reeds-best-movies-and-tv-shows-ranked/) |
| Star Wars | Directed installments of *The Mandalorian* season 2, including "The Passenger"[1](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34598353/the-mandalorian-peyton-reed/) |
| Critical range | Rotten Tomatoes critics' scores run from 87% for *Ant-Man and the Wasp* to 34% for *The Break-Up*[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peyton_reed) |
## Early life and start in television
Reed was born and raised in [Raleigh, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/raleigh-north-carolina), the youngest of three boys. His parents gave him a Super 8 camera for Christmas when he was 13, and he began writing and directing films starring friends and family.[5](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/peyton-reed-5226/biography/)
After moving to Los Angeles, his first industry job was as a production assistant for ABC television, and he worked as a van driver on the set of *Bull Durham* (1988), which was partially filmed in Raleigh, to save enough money to accept an editor position at ZM Productions.[5](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/peyton-reed-5226/biography/) At ZM he made the short film *Almost Beat* (1989), shown at film festivals, and then directed behind-the-scenes television documentaries such as *The Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy* (1990) and *Through the Eyes of Forrest Gump* (1994).[5](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/peyton-reed-5226/biography/) He has described this period as a paid apprenticeship: working on making-of documentaries, he watched major directors at work on three [Robert Zemeckis](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-zemeckis) films and was briefly on the sets of *Jurassic Park* and *Hook*.[6](https://www.fastcompany.com/3048441/how-ant-man-director-peyton-reed-went-from-bringing-it-on-to-marvels-weird-supe)
His first steady directing job came on the live-action portions of the short-lived *Back to the Future* animated series (CBS, 1991 to 1992).[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peyton_reed) He then directed two Disney television remakes, *The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes* (1995), starring [Kirk Cameron](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirk-cameron), and *The Love Bug* (1997).[5](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/peyton-reed-5226/biography/) He called these roughly $2.5 to $3 million productions his "Roger Corman time," with twenty days of prep, twenty days of shooting, and twenty days of editing.[6](https://www.fastcompany.com/3048441/how-ant-man-director-peyton-reed-went-from-bringing-it-on-to-marvels-weird-supe)
## Comedy television and the move to features
**Sketch comedy.** After the Disney movies, Reed deliberately moved toward comedy, directing episodes of *Mr. Show with Bob and David* on HBO and *Upright Citizens Brigade* on [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central), as well as CBS's Saturday-morning *The Weird Al Show*.[5](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/peyton-reed-5226/biography/) • [6](https://www.fastcompany.com/3048441/how-ant-man-director-peyton-reed-went-from-bringing-it-on-to-marvels-weird-supe) When he met with [David Cross](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-cross) and [Bob Odenkirk](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-odenkirk) about *Mr. Show*, his reel of indie rock music videos for bands such as Superchunk was what appealed to Cross.[6](https://www.fastcompany.com/3048441/how-ant-man-director-peyton-reed-went-from-bringing-it-on-to-marvels-weird-supe)
**Feature debut.** While directing *Upright Citizens Brigade* episodes in New York, Reed read a teen comedy script then called *Cheer Fever* and pitched the producers his ideas for it; he was hired, and the film became *Bring It On* (2000), starring [Kirsten Dunst](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirsten-dunst) and [Eliza Dushku](https://www.edgepedia.org/eliza-dushku).[5](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/peyton-reed-5226/biography/) The cheerleading comedy was a number one box office hit and played in theaters for nearly six months.[5](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/peyton-reed-5226/biography/) It earned about $90.5 million worldwide from an $11 million budget.[3](https://tvovermind.com/peyton-reeds-best-movies-and-tv-shows-ranked/) Reed has described *Bring It On* and his next film, *Down with Love* (2003), starring [Renée Zellweger](https://www.edgepedia.org/renee-zellweger) and Ewan McGregor, as "musicals without actually being musicals," heavily choreographed films in which camera movement is part of the joke.[6](https://www.fastcompany.com/3048441/how-ant-man-director-peyton-reed-went-from-bringing-it-on-to-marvels-weird-supe)
He followed with *The Break-Up* (2006), starring [Jennifer Aniston](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-aniston) and [Vince Vaughn](https://www.edgepedia.org/vince-vaughn), which he was making while going through his own divorce and on which he resisted studio pressure to reunite the couple at the end, and *Yes Man* (2008), starring [Jim Carrey](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-carrey).[6](https://www.fastcompany.com/3048441/how-ant-man-director-peyton-reed-went-from-bringing-it-on-to-marvels-weird-supe) Both did substantially better at the box office than *Bring It On*, though critics rated them lower; *The Break-Up* holds his lowest Rotten Tomatoes score at 34%.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peyton_reed)
## The Marvel years
In 2014 Reed replaced director [Edgar Wright](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgar-wright) on [Marvel Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-studios)' *Ant-Man* after Wright's long-standing deal fell through over creative differences; Reed's record on studio comedies made him an amenable choice for Marvel and Disney.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peyton_reed) The film, starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, combined a superhero origin story with a heist structure and grossed more than $519 million worldwide on a $58 million opening weekend.[3](https://tvovermind.com/peyton-reeds-best-movies-and-tv-shows-ranked/) • [6](https://www.fastcompany.com/3048441/how-ant-man-director-peyton-reed-went-from-bringing-it-on-to-marvels-weird-supe) Reed had wanted to make a superhero film for years: in 2003 he spent the better part of a year developing *Fantastic Four* at Fox before leaving over effects funding and script concerns, and he had also pitched on *Guardians of the Galaxy*.[6](https://www.fastcompany.com/3048441/how-ant-man-director-peyton-reed-went-from-bringing-it-on-to-marvels-weird-supe)
He returned for *Ant-Man and the Wasp* (2018), his highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes at 87%, and *Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania* (2023), which scored 46% with critics.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peyton_reed) He describes himself as a compositional director for whom blocking, movement, and framing matter, an approach he carried into the 3D scale play of the Ant-Man films.[7](https://time.com/3959733/ant-man-peyton-reed/)
## The Mandalorian and television work
On May 4, 2020, Reed confirmed he had directed an installment of *The Mandalorian*'s second season, which had completed production that March.[8](https://www.tvline.com/news/the-mandalorian-season-2-robert-rodriguez-director-1193294/) One of his episodes was "The Passenger," and the season's directors also included Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Carl Weathers, and Robert Rodriguez.[1](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34598353/the-mandalorian-peyton-reed/) • [9](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/the_mandalorian_s2_project_profile_10-13-20_dd7f9772.pdf) Reed had visited Favreau on the season 1 set out of interest in the show's volume technology, and on the episode he signed for he fleshed out Favreau's rough script, working on it with him.[10](https://ae.headtopics.com/news/director-peyton-reed-on-his-marvel-future-and-creating-kang-the-conqueror-with-jonathan-majors-35611762)
His other television credits as a director include episodes of *New Girl* and *The Goodwin Games*, and he has executive produced *The Unicorn*, *The Goodwin Games*, and *Cashmere Mafia*.[11](https://www.metacritic.com/person/peyton-reed/) He has also acted in small roles, including a mime in his own *Bring It On* and voice work on *Beavis and Butt-head*.[12](https://www.moviemeter.com/celebrities/59026/peyton-reed)
## References
1. [The Mandalorian's "The Passenger" Director Peyton Reed Is a Star Wars Superfan, Men's Health](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34598353/the-mandalorian-peyton-reed/)
2. [Peyton Reed: From Comedy Hits to Superhero Success, Martin Cid Magazine](https://www.martincid.com/movies/directors-movies-en/peyton-reed-from-comedy-hits-to-superhero-success/)
3. [Peyton Reed's Best Movies and TV Shows, Ranked, TVovermind](https://tvovermind.com/peyton-reeds-best-movies-and-tv-shows-ranked/)
4. [Peyton Reed Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peyton_reed)
5. [Peyton Reed Biography, Showtimes](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/peyton-reed-5226/biography/)
6. [How "Ant-Man" Director Peyton Reed Went From Bringing It On To Marvel's Weird Superhero, Fast Company](https://www.fastcompany.com/3048441/how-ant-man-director-peyton-reed-went-from-bringing-it-on-to-marvels-weird-supe)
7. [Ant-Man Director on Paul Rudd's Sweet Spot and Women in Comic Book Movies, TIME](https://time.com/3959733/ant-man-peyton-reed/)
8. [The Mandalorian: Robert Rodriguez Confirmed As A Season 2 Director, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/news/the-mandalorian-season-2-robert-rodriguez-director-1193294/)
9. [The Mandalorian (Season 2) Project Profile, Lucasfilm](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/the_mandalorian_s2_project_profile_10-13-20_dd7f9772.pdf)
10. [Director Peyton Reed on His Marvel Future and Creating Kang the Conqueror, Head Topics](https://ae.headtopics.com/news/director-peyton-reed-on-his-marvel-future-and-creating-kang-the-conqueror-with-jonathan-majors-35611762)
11. [Peyton Reed, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/peyton-reed/)
12. [Peyton Reed, MovieMeter](https://www.moviemeter.com/celebrities/59026/peyton-reed)
13. [Peyton Reed - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0715636/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Film and television directors › Directors of the United States and Canada › Television directors › Live-action scripted television directors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 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