David Callaham

Life

Callaham was born in Fresno, California, on October 24, 1977, to Lee Hsu and Michael Callaham. He has a brother, Gregory. He is of Chinese descent through his mother. He studied English at the University of Michigan and graduated in 1999. In 2009, Callaham married Bree Tichy. They have at least one child. He is a Brown Belt in 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu under Eddie Bravo.

Career

After reading an article in Penthouse magazine focusing on the lifestyle of Hollywood TV writers, Callaham and a friend moved to Los Angeles with plans to write comedies together. They sent query letters to multiple agencies but never received responses. Callaham worked at Creative Artists Agency for a while, sometimes submitting his material secretly for coverage. In 2002, Callaham wrote Horsemen which was later produced by Michael Bay. In 2003, Callaham wrote the film adaptation to the video game Doom which was released in 2005. Around that time, Callaham wrote Barrow for Warner Bros., a mercenary-inspired action script which later became The Expendables. Callaham was credited for story and characters after Sylvester Stallone used Callaham's Barrow script as a "starting point" for The Expendables. In 2010, Legendary Pictures hired Callaham to write the first draft for Godzilla, for which he received a story credit. In 2014, Callaham completed a production rewrite for Ant-Man, and in 2019, he co-wrote the Zombieland sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap, for Sony. He also worked on the yet-unproduced Jackpot for Focus Features and America: The Motion Picture for Netflix.

In October 2016, Universal Pictures hired Callaham to rewrite The Wolf Man for their Dark Universe. In September 2017, Patty Jenkins hired Callaham to write the script for Wonder Woman 1984 with her and Geoff Johns. In November 2018, Sony Pictures Animation hired Callaham to write a sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The following month, Marvel Studios hired Callaham to write the screenplay for a film based on Shang-Chi. The film had its world premiere on August 16, 2021, and was released on September 3, 2021. In April 2020, Callaham was announced as the writer of Walt Disney Pictures' live-action remake of Hercules. In June 2022, it was reported that he left the project. In January 2022, Callaham was announced to have written the latest draft of screenplay of the Masters of the Universe reboot for Netflix, along with Aaron and Adam Nee. On May 1, 2024 it was confirmed that the Masters of the Universe film would now be released through Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films and would be directed by Travis Knight with a screenplay written by Chris Butler that would be based on the initial draft written by Callaham and Aaron and Adam Nee.

On May 10, 2024, Callaham was announced as the writer for Godzilla x Kong: Supernova; Callaham had previously written the early drafts for Godzilla (2014).

Lawsuit

In late 2013, the producers of The Expendables, Nu Image and Millennium Films, filed a lawsuit against Callaham and the Writers Guild of America for fraud, unjust enrichment, and declaratory relief over a "flawed and misinformed" Guild arbitration that gave Callaham undeserved writing credit for The Expendables and The Expendables 2. They demanded reimbursements from Callaham for any payments made to him for his fraudulent credit in the two films and to award director, co-writer, and star Sylvester Stallone sole writing credit.

The producers accused Callaham of "subterfuge" by intentionally withholding emails and other correspondences from the WGA screenwriting credit arbitration panel in 2009 that reportedly reveal how very little Callaham was involved with The Expendables. The producers also attempted to legally block a WGA arbitration meeting that was to take place on January 31, 2014, however, a judge denied their request; the meeting was to discuss bonus money and interests owed to Callaham for The Expendables 2. Similarly, writer Marcus Webb filed a lawsuit against the producers, Callaham, and Stallone in October 2011, claiming that The Expendables was based on his mercenary script The Cordoba Caper. However, Stallone's lawyers countered at the time that The Expendables was based on Callaham's script Barrow, originally written for Warner Bros. and provided to Stallone by his agent. Stallone had even provided a sworn declaration, stating, "In those rewrites, I kept Callaham’s story about a group of highly trained mercenaries overthrowing the dictator of a Latin America island."

In December 2012, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff noted, during a ruling in the Webb case, the hypocrisy from Stallone's comments, pointing out a signed letter during his own WGA arbitration claiming that The Expendables was original and did not repurpose anything from Callaham's Barrow. Rakoff then dismissed Webb's case, stating that he failed to provide "striking similarities" between The Cordoba Caper and The Expendables. Webb later re-appealed on January 15, 2014, weeks after Nu Image's lawsuit against Callaham and the WGA. Webb's attorneys pointed out the contradictions from the producers of The Expendables, who previously offered evidence that the film was and was not based on Callaham's Barrow.

On March 31, 2014, Nu Image and Millennium Films reached an undisclosed conditional settlement with Callaham.

Filmography

Film writer

Television

References

References

1. "David E Callaham was born on October 24, 1977 in Fresno County, California". California Office of Health Information and Research.
2. "Participant Bios".
3. Francisco, Eric. "Shang-Chi writer: "America can be a very different country for different people."".
4. McNary, Dave. (December 4, 2018). "Marvel Studios Developing 'Shang-Chi' Movie With Dave Callaham Writing".
5. "Dave Callaham".
6. "Screenwriter Profile: Dave Callaham". Fresh Voices.
7. "A Vintage Wedding in Los Angeles, CA".
8. (September 3, 2021). "The Irresistible Allure of Shang-Chi Villain Tony Leung".
9. "Eddie Bravo Radio".
10. "Screenwriter Profile: David Callaham". Fresh Voices.
11. (December 27, 2012). "Webb vs. Stallone". United States District Court Southern District of New York.
12. McWeeny, Drew. (October 14, 2010). "Updated! Guillermo Del Toro on 'Godzilla'? Not so fast, says director". Hit Fix.
13. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (September 30, 2014). "After Moving Slow As Corpse, 'Zombieland 2′ Gets Writer And Urgency".
14. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (March 30, 2017). "Netflix Sets First Animated Film 'America'; Channing Tatum Voicing George Washington".
15. Ford, Rebecca. (October 13, 2016). "Universal Taps 'The Expendables' Writer to Pen 'The Wolf Man' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
16. (September 13, 2017). "'The Expendables' Writer Joins Patty Jenkins, Geoff Johns to Write 'Wonder Woman 2' (EXCLUSIVE)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
17. Vejvoda, Jim. (November 29, 2018). "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Official Credits Reveal Surprise Voice Actor Cameos".
18. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (December 3, 2018). "'Shang-Chi' Marvel's First Asian Film Superhero Franchise; Dave Callaham Scripting, Search On For Director Of Asian Descent".
19. Borys Kit. (April 30, 2020). "'Hercules' Live-Action Remake in the Works From Disney, 'Shang-Chi' Writer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
20. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (June 17, 2022). "'Aladdin' Director Guy Ritchie Teams With Disney & AGBO On Live-Action 'Hercules'". Deadline Hollywood.
21. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (January 28, 2022). "'Masters Of The Universe' Live-Action Mattel Movie Heads To Netflix After Being In Development At Sony; Kyle Allen To Play He-Man".
22. (May 1, 2024). "Mattel's 'Masters of the Universe' Moves From Netflix to Amazon for Summer 2026 Release, Travis Knight to Direct".
23. Kit, Borys. (May 10, 2024). "‘Godzilla x Kong’ Follow-Up Enlists ‘Shang Chi’ Scribe Dave Callaham to Write (Exclusive)".
24. Patten, Dominic. (December 24, 2013). "WGA West & Scribe Sued For Fraud By Nu Image/Millennium Over 'Expendables' Credit".
25. Gardner, Eriq. (January 30, 2014). "Sylvester Stallone's 'Expendables' Launches Nasty Writers Battle". The Hollywood Reporter.
26. Gardner, Eriq. (April 16, 2014). "Hollywood Docket: Settlements for Black Flag, Eminem and ‘The Expendables’". The Hollywood Reporter.
27. "Doom". Writers Guilde of America East.
28. "Horsemen". Writers Guilde of America East.
29. "Tell-Tale". Writers Guilde of America East.
30. "The Expendables". Writers Guilde of America East.
31. "Godzilla". Writers Guilde of America East.
32. "Zombieland: Double Tap". Writers Guilde of America East.
33. "Wonder Woman 1984". Writers Guilde of America East.
34. "Mortal Kombat". Writers Guild of America East.
35. "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings". Writers Guild of America East.
36. (25 December 2025). "Masters of the Universe - WGA Directory".
37. (November 12, 2025). "''Zeus''". [[Writers Guild of America West]].
38. "‘Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse’ Taps Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson To Direct".
39. (March 31, 2025). "'Beyond the Spider-Verse' Reveals 2027 Release Date and First Footage".
40. "Jean Claude Van Johnson". Writers Guilde of America East.