Overview
- Russell was found after emergency responders were called to his San Diego-area home and died on Wednesday, July 22, 2026; officials have not released a cause of death.
- He directed eleven feature films across horror and action genres, including Freddy 3, The Mask (1994), The Eraser (1996) and The Scorpion King (2002).
- The Mask was a major commercial breakthrough that helped make Jim Carrey a household name and introduced Cameron Diaz to feature films.
- In recent years Russell returned to theatrical directing with films in 2016 and 2019 and had publicly announced a partnership with Higgsfield to explore generative-video AI filmmaking whose status is now unclear.
- Colleagues and stars paid tribute, with Jim Carrey praising Russell’s imaginative on-set spirit, and the unresolved projects and AI collaboration raise questions about who will complete or steward his late-career work.