Wesley Wang

Wesley Wang
Wang in 2026
Born (2004-05-14) May 14, 2004 (age 22)
Jericho, New York
Chess career
CountryUnited States
TitleFIDE Master (2018)
Peak rating2341 (April 2023)

Wesley Wang is an American film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his short film nothing, except everything. (2023), which was planned to be adapted into a feature film produced by Darren Aronofsky and Sony's TriStar Pictures before Wang separated from Sony in 2026. He was on Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2024. In 2026, he founded Wesley Wang Media, a studio to help distribute his work, alongside other potentially viral intellectual property.

Early life

Wang is from Long Island, and attended Jericho High School in Jericho, New York. As a competitive chess player, he became a FIDE Master in 2018. He started the non-profit CHESSanity in 2014 to promote chess in underprivileged schools across the country. He attended Harvard College, however as of 2026 he has dropped out to found Wesley Wang Media.

Career

During his senior year of high school, Wang wrote and directed the short film nothing, except everything. (2023). To have the project made, he taught chess lessons for funding and cold-emailed hundreds of producers before Scott Aharoni agreed to produce. After having its world premiere at the Academy Award-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival, the film went onto garner over 8.9 million views on YouTube.

The film received mixed reviews, with some praising its technical aspects and depiction of Gen Z culture whilst others criticizing the film's heavy-handedness in its existentialist themes and Wang's privileged position as a factor in the film's success.

Sparking a bidding war, the rights to the feature adaptation were then bought by TriStar, with Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures producing. The feature is now in development.

On June 11, 2026, Wesley uploaded to his YouTube channel an animated short film entitled Violet and Marlowe Rob a Bank (stylized in all caps). The short is a music video for the song "Feel It All Again" by the band adore. Violet and Marlowe is a CGI animated short film about a rabbit couple attempting to thwart a monopoly in the carrot market. The short won Best Animated Short at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it initially premiered.

Alongside the premiere of Violet and Marlowe, Wesley announced that he was founding his own studio, Wesley Wang Media. This studio, according to Wang himself, is meant to be "...the A24 of the creator economy". Via Wesley Wang Media and merch sales, he intends to raise money for a full Violet and Marlowe movie. Wang, in the comments of the YouTube upload, said "...now we deeply want to make this into a FULL LENGTH MOVIE with a larger team based off [a promotional Instagram reel featuring the bunnies in an office]." He further elaborated during an interview with IGN that the movie would be a prequel to the short film, and that he's also working on adapting Violet and Marlowe into a video game.

On September 16, 2026, Wang officially announced Wesley Wang Media, and its first slate of projects. While the idea had been discussed before, it was not officially announced until a Deadline article confirmed it. The initial slate of programming includes interactive programs, a prequel film and TV show to Violet and Marlowe, and a series to help amateur filmmakers make films, similar to Project Greenlight.

Alongside this announcement, it was revealed Wang had parted ways with Sony Pictures the month prior, and the nothing, except everything film would not proceed with Sony.

Filmography

Short film

Year Title Director Writer Producer
2022 Mute Yes Yes Yes
2023 nothing, except everything. Yes Yes No
2024 You Are Seen Yes Yes No
2026 Violet and Marlowe Rob A Bank Yes Yes Yes

Feature film

Year Title Director Writer Notes
TBA nothing, except everything. Yes Yes In development

References

  1. ↑ "Wesley Wang". Forbes. Retrieved Dec 3, 2024.
  2. ↑ Grobar, Matt. "TriStar Lands Wesley Wang Short 'Nothing, Except Everything' In Bidding War; Wang To Adapt, With Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Producing". Deadline. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  3. ↑ Grobar, Matt (2026-09-16). "Wesley Wang Media Announced: Caellum Allan Named Head Of Film & Television". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  4. ↑ McKenna, Brittney; McGrath, Maggie; Voytko-Best, Lisette. "30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment 2025: Kathryn Newton, Wesley Wang And Marcello Hernandez Are Thriving Going Into '25". Forbes. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Cohen, Syd. "This Creator Aims to Build the A24 of the Creator Economy 🐰". Press Publish LA. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
  6. ↑ Dziemianowicz, Joe. "Meet Newsday's Extraordinary Seniors". Newsday. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Wesley Wang FIDE Profile". FIDE.
  8. ↑ Lucas, Daniel. "One Move at a Time February Edition: FM Wesley Wang". uschess.org. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  9. ↑ Molloy, Tim. "In Wesley Wang's 'nothing, except everything,' Recent High School Grads Grasp for Meaning". MovieMaker. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Hey all, I just dropped out of Harvard to build the next A24 that lets the internet greenlight the next generation of films and shows. We're already in development with Lionsgate, FOX, Warner Music… | Wesley Wang | 127 comments". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  11. ↑ Gutelle, Sam. "Wesley Wang's viral short film got 4.4 million views. A feature adaptation is in the works". Tubefilter. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  12. ↑ Kaufman, Kate. "'Going Viral' with Wesley Wang". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  13. ↑ Doyle, Hannah; Graber-Lipperman, Nathan. "Inside the Viral Short Film Taking Over YouTube". The Publish Press. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  14. ↑ Naman, Ramachandran; Patrick, Frater. "Greenbird Media Cluster Acquired by STV Studios". Variety. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  15. ↑ Fagerholm, Matt. "No Moment was Wasted: Highlights at the 2023 Indy Shorts International Film Festival". rogerebert.com. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  16. ↑ Kaulessar, Ricardo. "YouTube hit featuring Cedar Grove HS and the Holland Tunnel will be a Hollywood feature". northjersey.com. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  17. ↑ "'Going Viral' with Wesley Wang | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
  18. ↑ Matt, Grobar. "WME Unveils 2024 Lineup For Student Short Film Showcase Futurefest". Deadline. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  19. 1 2 Wesley Wang (2026-06-11). VIOLET AND MARLOWE ROB A BANK. Retrieved 2026-06-18 – via YouTube.
  20. ↑ Zahed, Ramin (2026-06-13). "Tribeca Festival Scene Stealer Wesley Wang on Making his Top Prize-Winning Short 'Violet and Marlowe Rob a Bank'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
  21. ↑ "Violet and Marlowe Rob a Bank | 2026 Tribeca Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
  22. ↑ Peyton, Michael (2026-06-29). "After Winning at Tribeca, Filmmaker Wesley Wang Explains His Wild Plan to Turn His Violent Bunny Animated Short into a 3D Shooter Game with Carrot Loot". IGN. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  23. ↑ Grobar, Matt (2026-09-16). "Wesley Wang Media Announced: Caellum Allan Named Head Of Film & Television". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-09-20.