FRONTRUNNERS:

Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Fernando Meirelles (The Two Popes)
Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story)
Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)
Lulu Wang (The Farewell)

MAJOR THREATS:

Todd Phillips (Joker)
Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)
James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari)
Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit)
Olivia Wilde (Booksmart)

POSSIBILITIES:

Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers)
Anthony Russo & Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame)
Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems)
Trey Edward Shults (Waves)
Pedro Almodovar (Pain and Glory)
Dan Bradley & James Gray (Ad Astra)
Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse)
Rian Johnson (Knives Out)
Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy)

LONG SHOTS:

Jon Favreau (The Lion King)
Alma Har'el (Honey Boy)
Joe Talbot (The Last Black Man in San Francisco)
Dexter Fletcher (Rocketman)
Rupert Goold (Judy)
Ben Harper (The Aeronauts)
Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4)
Steven Soderbergh (The Laundromat)
Terrence Malick (A Hidden Life)

STILL TO SEE:

J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)
Bill Condon (The Good Liar)
Greta Gerwig (Little Women)
Todd Haynes (Dark Waters)
Tom Hooper (Cats)
Ang Lee (Gemini Man)
Sam Mendes (1917)
Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim)
Jay Roach (Bombshell)
Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)