Who wrote Final Destination?

“Final Destination” was created by American screenwriter and director Jeffrey Reddick. The final screenplay was penned by James Wong and Glen Morgan. Since its debut in 2000, the franchise has grown into a cultural phenomenon, known for its inventive and extremely detailed Rube Goldberg-style death sequences.

The original film’s premise of the characters cheating death, only to end up being hunted by it, resonated deeply with the audiences. The concept began as an X-Files spec script, centering on a man who avoids a doomed flight after experiencing a premonition. The widely successful films have cumulatively grossed over $665 million worldwide. The sixth installment, “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, is set for release across the U.S. on May 16, 2025.

Who wrote Final Destination?

Hailing from Eastern Kentucky, Jeffrey Reddick received his big break in the industry at a young age through his persistent outreach to New Line Cinema’s Bob Shaye. At age 14, he watched “Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)” and conceptualized a prequel idea that he then proceeded to mail to Shaye. He eventually landed an internship at the studio, which turned into an 11-year-long career with them. In addition to co-writing “Final Destination 2 (2003),” Reddick also penned “Tamara (2005), “Day of the Dead (2008),” and “Don’t Look Back (2020).” His recent projects include “Till Death Do Us Part (2023)” and “The Other.”

Glen Morgan and James Wong, on the other hand, are a writing and producing team best known for their work on “The X-Files (1993-2018).” The pair have been longtime friends since high school and began their careers under Stephen J. Cannell Productions, contributing to shows such as “21 Jump Street (1987-1991)” and “The Commish (1991-1995).” Their creative blend of intricate mythology and eerie stand-alone episodes in “The X-Files,” universe helped shape the show’s tone. Later, the duo also created “Space: Above and Beyond (1995),” served as showrunners on “Millennium (1996-1998),” and also co-wrote the science-fiction film “The One (2001).”

What was the writers’ vision of Final Destination?

Reddick originally envisioned the film with adult characters; however, following the success of “Scream,” New Line Cinema leaned toward a younger cast. Reddick adjusted accordingly and included teenage protagonists. The idea for the story stemmed from a real article he had come across about a woman who switched flights at her mother’s urging. The flight that the woman was originally supposed to travel in crashed tragically.

Reddick’s concept centered on Death being the true villain, an invisible and inescapable force that cannot be fought, only evaded. That was the point, he had emphasized, as some questioned whether such an antagonist could anchor a horror film. Reddick also co-wrote the story for the second film, released in 2003. Reddick also disliked the idea of having all characters die by the end. He consistently pushed to include survivors, highlighting his belief that while death is unavoidable, it sure can be postponed.

James Wong and Glen Morgan, who adapted Reddick’s script for the screen, brought a new vision that shaped the film’s tone and structure. Wong noted that turning the story into a feature film instead of a television episode gave them the freedom to visualize these elaborate and suspenseful death sequences. He focused on building dread through ordinary objects and moments, drawing inspiration from regular superstitions.

Morgan, meanwhile, recalled initially reading an early draft, which featured a physical embodiment of Death in the style of Woody Allen’s “Love and Death.” He took cues from classic Universal monster films, aiming to include a retro sense of dread. All of their combined efforts resulted in transforming Death into an invisible and inevitable antagonist, moving from the popular slasher tropes and instead crafting cause-and-effect sequences that are rooted in the mundane.