David Lynch died without ever having won a competitive Oscar.  He was nominated three times, once for a movie that was also nominated for Best Picture.  He was given an honorary award before he died.  But he never won the Oscar for Best Director.

When it comes to the Oscars, we always talk about artists who are “overdue” and we often suggest that they’ll win with their next major release.  But life and art are both unpredictable.  Indeed, even when a past due director does win an Oscar, it’s often for a lesser film.  George Cukor directed many charming films but he only won one Oscar and that was for the leaden My Fair Lady.

Here are my picks for six directors who I hope will win an Oscar in the next ten years.  Some are overdue.  Some are just underrated.  All of them are deserving.

Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater had a great 2025.  Blue Moon resulted in an Oscar nomination for Ethan Hawke.  Nouvelle Vague swept the Cesars.  He’s widely viewed as one America’s best and most independently-minded directors.  And yet, he’s only once been nominated for Best Director, for Boyhood.  That Linklater lost that Oscar to Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu is a true injustice.  Linklater is one of those directors who vision may be too idiosyncratic for the Academy but I remain hopeful that he will get his Oscar.  He’s currently directing Merrily We Roll Again, with filming set to wrap up in 2040.  That’s a long wait but I look forward to reviewing it.

Joseph Kosinski

With Top Gun: Maverick and F1, Kosinski has emerged as one of the best directors of action around.  Both Top Gun: Maverick and F1 were satisfying films that were not ashamed of being works of adrenaline-pumping excitement.  Both were nominated for Best Picture but Kosinski has yet to receive a Best Director nomination.  I hope that changes soon.

David Fincher

It’s amazing to realize that David Fincher still doesn’t have an Oscar.  He’s one of the most influential directors around.  Much as with David Lynch, a lot of aspiring filmmakers have tried to imitate Fincher but David Fincher really is the only one who can do what he does.  2026 will see the release of The Adventures of Cliff Booth and it will be interesting to see how Fincher continues the story started by Quentin Tarantino in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

Quentin Tarantino

To be honest, I suspect that Quentin Tarantino is never going to win a Best Director Oscar.  He’s talented, he’s beloved by a large number of film fans, and he also has a real talent for burning bridges and ticking people off.  If you’re a director who happens to be a friend of Paul Dano’s, you’re probably never going to vote for Tarantino.  That said, I have my doubts as to whether or not Tarantino really cares about the Oscars.  His favorite films are the ones that don’t win Oscars.  I personally would enjoy hearing his acceptance speech.

Andrea Arnold

I have been a fan of Andrea Arnold’s ever since I saw Fish Tank at the Dallas Angelika in 2010.  This British director has only directed five feature films since 2006 but she’s still one of the best filmmakers out there, capturing life on society’s fringes with an empathy that never feels condescending.

Sofia Coppola

Sofia is a perennial on these lists and I’ll keep including her until she finally wins her Oscar. No one captures the beauty of ennui with quite the skill and visual flair of Sofia Coppola.