He made his feature film directorial debut in 2018 with Blindspotting, which premiered opening night at Sundance 2018 and was subsequently released by Lionsgate Entertainment. His second film, Summertime, premiered opening night of Sundance 2020 and was released in July 2021. Carlos' third film, Raya and the Last Dragon, was released by Disney in March 2021 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 94th Academy Awards. Estrada and actress Kelly Marie Tran announced that they were establishing a new production company called Antigravity Academy in November 2022, intending to help produce entertainment from and about people from historically excluded communities.
López Estrada directed a short film titled Identity Theft based on a one-act play written by Andrew Rothschild. It stars stage veterans Bill Irwin and Kate Burton. The film premiered at the 2015 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films.
López Estrada directed his first feature film in 2017, Blindspotting, starring Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal. The film, released in 2018, is semi-autobiographical and based on Diggs and Casal's lives in a rapidly gentrifying Oakland.

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