Michael Shawver

Michael P. Shawver (born 1984 or 1985) is an American film editor who is known for his longtime collaboration with director Ryan Coogler. After meeting at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Shawver began editing Coogler's student films, including the HBO-aired short "Fig". He went on to co-edit Coogler's major feature films, including Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed (2015), Black Panther (2018), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). Their collaboration continued with the 2025 film Sinners, marking 15 years of partnership. Outside of his work with Coogler, Shawver has edited a range of feature films, including A Quiet Place Part II (2020), Honest Thief (2020), Blacklight (2022), and Abigail (2024).

Michael P. Shawver
Born	1984 or 1985 (age 40–41)[1] Rhode Island, United States
Alma mater	University of Rhode Island '07 University of Southern California '12
Occupation	Film editor
Years active	2013–present
Known for	Black Panther (2018)

Early life and education

Shawver was born around 1984 or 1985 and grew up in North Providence, Rhode Island.^[1] He went to Greystone Elementary School then Ponaganset High School. He went to the University of Rhode Island,^[2] where he majored in communications studies.^[1] He graduated from URI in 2007,^[3] and he then went to the Los Angeles–based USC School of Cinematic Arts to enroll in the Master of Fine Arts program.^[1] He met Ryan Coogler in 2009 in a directing class, learned about Coogler's short films in the making, and asked to help edit them.^[4] Shawver edited Coogler's student films, including "Fig", which aired on HBO.^[3] Shawver completed the MFA program in 2012.^[5]

Career

Shawver's first feature-film credit as editor came when Coogler began work on his first feature film Fruitvale Station with Claudia Castello involved as editor. Coogler recruited Shawver, and Castello and Shawver worked as a team.^[6] The two collaborated as editors again for Coogler's follow-up Creed. For Coogler's third feature film Black Panther, Shawver teamed with Debbie Berman, and the two worked on editing over 500 hours' worth of footage. Since Berman was one of the editors for the 2017 film Spider-Man: Homecoming, Shawver learned from her how to work with visual effects in editing.^[7]

Shawver collaborated with Coogler again for the 2025 film Sinners,^[8] after which Coogler recognized Shawver for their 15-year partnership.^[9]

Filmography

Shawver's editing credits

Year	Title	Notes	Ref.
2013	Fruitvale Station	Edited with Claudia Castello	[10]
2014	Tell		[11]
	Warren		[11]
2015	4th Man Out		[12]
	Creed	Edited with Claudia Castello	[10]
2017	All Summers End		[11]
	Dirty Dancing		[13]
2018	Black Panther	Edited with Debbie Berman	[14]
2019	Godzilla: King of the Monsters	Credited as additional editor	[15]
2020	A Quiet Place Part II	Commercial release in 2021	[10]
	Honest Thief		[11]
2022	Blacklight		[11]
	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever	Edited with Kelley Dixon and Jennifer Lame	[16]
2024	Abigail		[17]
2025	Sinners		[8]

See also

• List of University of Rhode Island people