The original version of this article was written by Jess Bacon and published on 16 February 2024.
Writer, filmmaker and occasional actor Edgar Wright is renowned for his contribution to action, comedy and satire films, with titles such as Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World confirming him as one of the most beloved British filmmakers of his generation. Wright made his name as a frequent collaborator of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, with whom he co-created the iconic two-season comedy Spaced for Channel 4 before moving on to feature filmmaking with The Cornetto Trilogy. His latest is a remake of Stephen King's The Running Man and stars Glen Powell in a role once played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 original.
For this list, we’ve decided to leave a few things out for various reasons. Wright helped write the script for The Adventures of Tintin with Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat and Joe Cornish, but that movie was, of course, directed by Steven Spielberg. In 2015, the acclaimed auteur also famously co-wrote the original screenplay for Marvel Studio’s Ant-Man (again with Joe Cornish), which stars Paul Rudd in the titular role, but that film would eventually be directed by Peyton Reed after Wright left the project due to creative differences with the studio.
With a plethora of action-packed films to choose from, here is every Edgar Wright movie in chronological order and where to stream (most of) them on services like Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.
A Fistful of Fingers (1995)
After a string of independent short films, Wright wrote and directed his first feature, A Fistful of Fingers in 1995—and as the name suggests, it’s a movie that attempted to do for spaghetti westerns (think Fistful of Dollars and The Good the Bad and the Ugly) what his later work, like Shaun of the Dead, would do for zombie movies.
A Fistful of Fingers remains notoriously difficult to find, so if you’re a fan and you get the opportunity to see it, make sure you take the chance. It’s always great to see the early movies of big directors, especially one like Wright who has such a signature style.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
For many, apparently including Wright himself, Shaun of the Dead is essentially the director’s first feature movie—and if you like the idea of seeing a satire of George A. Romero (think Night of the Living Dead), or are a fan of the movie-geek, post-modern homages of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, it’s kind of a modern classic.
Starring a then-largely unknown Simon Pegg, Wright’s unexpected debut hit is the kind of spoof that both celebrates and pokes fun at its subject matter, making it easily accessible for fans of zombie movies and newcomers alike.
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Three years after Shaun, Wright returned with Hot Fuzz, the second instalment of what would later be called the Cornetto trilogy and a movie that did for cop shows and action movies what Shaun did for horror. The movie reunited Wright with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who play two policemen in a rural English town that doesn’t stay peaceful and quiet for very long.
Lovers of ‘80s movies like Commando and Under Siege, or fans of comedies like Team America, will easily get the references and laugh from start to finish.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Telling the story of a high school kid who must fight the increasingly deadly ex-boyfriends of a girl he has a crush on, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World allowed Wright to work with an incredible cast of young actors (including Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin and Aubrey Plaza) and musicians (Beck and Frank Black contributed tunes) while flexing his talents with a massive Hollywood budget for the first time—at up to $85M, it was his most expensive movie before directing The Running Man.
Scott Pilgrim is also one of those movies that really attempts to recreate the texture of a comic book, so if you like the feel of things like Kick-Ass or even the Spider-Verse movies, you’ll want to check it out.
The World’s End (2013)
The World’s End rounds out the trilogy of Shaun and Hot Fuzz, so naturally, if you liked those movies for their humour and geeky movie references but felt they could have used a little sci-fi flavour (think a British This is the End or a send-up of Invasion of the Body Snatchers), it’s one you’ll want to cross off your list.
The World’s End, which follows a school friends’ reunion (led by Pegg and Frost, of course) that gets caught in the crossfire of an alien invasion, marked Wright’s return to England after Scott Pilgrim’s disappointing financial returns at the box office. It’s not the best of the trilogy, I think it's fair to say, but it’s a fine addition to the Wright canon.
Baby Driver (2017)
If you like heist movies (think Fast Five) and car chases (erm, also Fast Five?), watching Baby Driver will feel like an absolute sugar rush—especially if you also like those two things to be soundtracked by a playlist of stone-cold bangers. This is a movie that zips along faster than a suped-up Subaru and boasts some of the most finely-tuned driving scenes of all time.
Returning to filmmaking after his difficult experience with the MCU, Wright landed on his feet with Baby Driver. The movie was one of the most successful of his career, grossing ten times its budget and landing three nominations at the Oscars. It is a marvel of bright colours and pure escapism that proves simplicity is sometimes the Wright course of action.
Last Night in Soho (2021)
Having done horror, action, sci-fi, comics and a heist homage, it made sense that Wright would eventually tackle film noir. Unluckily, Last Night in Soho doesn’t lend itself quite so well to the director’s talents—but if you like modern neo noir homages like Brick or even some of the movies it’s referencing, like Hitchcock’s Vertigo, you might have fun with this premise.
You also won’t find any issues in the casting—Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie lead a remarkable ensemble that even includes what turned out to be the final role for Terence Stamp—but this is maybe one for the Wright completists only.
The Running Man (2025)
On a Twitter (as it was then known) AMA in 2017, Wright wrote that if he could remake one movie in the entire history of the medium, it would be The Running Man. That dream came true in late 2025 with the release of Wright's version of the early Stephen King story. The movie, which boasts red hot movie star Glen Powell in the lead role alongside a likeable bunch of supporting players (including Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo and Wright alum Michael Cera), was maybe not the huge success Wright had hoped for but it was nothing if not faithful to '80s action movies that the director adores.
The story takes place in a dystopian near future where the popular show follows a group of contestants as they are hunted on live TV. If you like the Arnie original or other breathless, sci-fi chase movies like Minority Report, this is one you’ll want to try.
