Shults was born in Montgomery, Texas, the son of Robyn (Fairchild) and William Shults. In 2010, he made his directorial debut in the short film
Mother and Son, which he also wrote, edited, and produced. It starred
Krisha Fairchild and Lucas Quintana. In 2011 and 2012, Shults variously served as film loader, post-production intern, and intern, on three of
Terrence Malick's films,
Song to Song,
Voyage of Time, and
The Tree of Life. At the time, Shults was a
business management student but dropped out to work on films and study films himself. The following year, he directed, wrote, and acted in a
feature-length adaptation of the same name, which premiered at
South by Southwest in March 2015, winning the Grand Jury Award. The film is based upon a real-life incident involving Shults's cousin, who experienced a relapse at a family reunion. It was acquired by
A24 and released in 2016. In March 2015, Shults signed with
William Morris Endeavor. Shults also served as the camera PA on the 2016 film
Midnight Special. starring
Joel Edgerton. He followed this film with the critically acclaimed drama
Waves, which was released on November 15, 2019. His most recent film,
Hurry Up Tomorrow, starring
Abel Tesfaye,
Jenna Ortega and
Barry Keoghan, was released in May 2025 by
Lionsgate and was widely panned by critics and audiences. Shults next began work on an untitled Hockey series from producer
Shawn Levy, of which Shults will direct the first two episodes. ==Filmography==