Drew Walkup
- Director
- Producer
Drew Walkup is an award-winning American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His debut feature film, Endangered (2022), premiered at Cinequest Film Festival and is rated 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. He has led creative on branded entertainment for world-class properties such as Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Walkup was born in Santa Cruz, California to parents of European and mixed descent. He found a love for storytelling early on. He attended Harbor High School before a brief tenure at Sonoma State University focusing on theater arts. Walkup completed his studies at the University of Southern California earning a degree at the School of Cinematic Arts. While at USC, his short film iDate premiered at the Southern California Business Film Festival and won two awards including the festival's top honor: Best Film.
In 2009, Walkup's first job out of college was working on the set of Breaking Bad. While originally hired as a production assistant, the staff quickly recognized his skill and elevated him to editor, working alongside producer John Shiban and Emmy award-winning editor Lynne Willingham for the series' "Minisodes."
In 2010, after a series of freelance gigs as editor and post-production supervisor, Walkup moved to Rome with a camera, microphone, and working knowledge of Italian. His goal was to produce a short film focusing on his love of the culture and experience in the country. By the end of his stay, he was fluent in the language and had a short film in the can.
In 2014, Walkup was promoted from Maker Studios Director of Production to the Vice President of Programming at The Walt Disney Company, charged with building branded entertainment campaigns and defining digital programming strategy across Disney divisions. Walkup drove the digital campaign for Guardians of the Galaxy. It was heralded as a success across the company. After Walkup's Guardians coup, he led the strategy and creative on a comprehensive campaign for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
In 2016, Walkup raised seed funding and launched startup REBL HQ, a digital entertainment studio built to "give a voice to the voiceless." Walkup directed and produced branded entertainment series for world-class brands such as Disney and Universal, as well as government projects for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. He also broke multiple Guinness World Records including the world's Largest Guitar Amplifier which he holds with band American Authors.
In 2018, Walkup honed back in on feature films to refocus REBL HQ. The first project was a proof-of-concept to showcase the quality-to-budget Walkup was capable of. He enlisted longtime collaborators Adam Armstrong and Marcus DeVivo to write a script for him to direct. Endangered captivated audiences around the world. Andrew Stover of Film Threat complimented the film and praised Walkup's direction, "Deliciously twisted and well-acted, Drew Walkup's [Endangered] is an impressive directorial effort..."
In 2023, Variety announced that Walkup is attached to direct the character-driven western Rift Canyon penned by Paul Leo Dietz and produced by Sheldon Brigman.
Walkup was born in Santa Cruz, California to parents of European and mixed descent. He found a love for storytelling early on. He attended Harbor High School before a brief tenure at Sonoma State University focusing on theater arts. Walkup completed his studies at the University of Southern California earning a degree at the School of Cinematic Arts. While at USC, his short film iDate premiered at the Southern California Business Film Festival and won two awards including the festival's top honor: Best Film.
In 2009, Walkup's first job out of college was working on the set of Breaking Bad. While originally hired as a production assistant, the staff quickly recognized his skill and elevated him to editor, working alongside producer John Shiban and Emmy award-winning editor Lynne Willingham for the series' "Minisodes."
In 2010, after a series of freelance gigs as editor and post-production supervisor, Walkup moved to Rome with a camera, microphone, and working knowledge of Italian. His goal was to produce a short film focusing on his love of the culture and experience in the country. By the end of his stay, he was fluent in the language and had a short film in the can.
In 2014, Walkup was promoted from Maker Studios Director of Production to the Vice President of Programming at The Walt Disney Company, charged with building branded entertainment campaigns and defining digital programming strategy across Disney divisions. Walkup drove the digital campaign for Guardians of the Galaxy. It was heralded as a success across the company. After Walkup's Guardians coup, he led the strategy and creative on a comprehensive campaign for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
In 2016, Walkup raised seed funding and launched startup REBL HQ, a digital entertainment studio built to "give a voice to the voiceless." Walkup directed and produced branded entertainment series for world-class brands such as Disney and Universal, as well as government projects for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. He also broke multiple Guinness World Records including the world's Largest Guitar Amplifier which he holds with band American Authors.
In 2018, Walkup honed back in on feature films to refocus REBL HQ. The first project was a proof-of-concept to showcase the quality-to-budget Walkup was capable of. He enlisted longtime collaborators Adam Armstrong and Marcus DeVivo to write a script for him to direct. Endangered captivated audiences around the world. Andrew Stover of Film Threat complimented the film and praised Walkup's direction, "Deliciously twisted and well-acted, Drew Walkup's [Endangered] is an impressive directorial effort..."
In 2023, Variety announced that Walkup is attached to direct the character-driven western Rift Canyon penned by Paul Leo Dietz and produced by Sheldon Brigman.
