Making his debut in 2013 with director Ryan Coogler's Fruitvale Station, Michael P. Shawver is an editor, actor and director. He is known to often collaborate with Coogler. Coogler directed his second short film, Fig (2011), when he was still at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and it was edited by Shawver. In 2012 Shawver wrote, directed and acted in the short-drama, Incarcerita. After making his debut with Fruitvale Station, Shawver went on to edit movies like Warren (2014), Tell (2014), 4th Man Out (2015), Creed: The Rocky Legacy (2015), and Grass Stains (2017). He also edited an episode of the TV comedy-romance-drama series, Relationship Status (2016- ).

In 2018 Shawver teamed up for a third time with Ryan Coogler to edit the director's Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, Black Panther. The superhero movie is the 18th to come out of the MCU.