David Elias Callaham (born October 24, 1977)^[1] is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for co-writing the screenplays for the filmsDoom (2005),The Expendables (2010),Zombieland: Double Tap (2019),Wonder Woman 1984 (2020),Mortal Kombat,Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (both 2021), andSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).

Callaham was born inFresno, California, on October 24, 1977, to Lee Hsu and Michael Callaham. He has a brother, Gregory.^[2] He is of Chinese descent through his mother.^[3][4] He studied English at theUniversity of Michigan and graduated in 1999.^[5][6] In 2009, Callaham married Bree Tichy.^[7] They have at least one child.^[8] He is a Brown Belt in10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu underEddie Bravo.^[9]

After reading an article inPenthouse 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 atCreative Artists Agency for a while, sometimes submitting his material secretly for coverage. In 2002, Callaham wroteHorsemen which was later produced byMichael Bay.^[10] In 2003, Callaham wrote thefilm adaptation to the video gameDoom which was released in 2005. Around that time, Callaham wroteBarrow forWarner Bros., a mercenary-inspired action script which later becameThe Expendables. Callaham was credited for story and characters afterSylvester Stallone used Callaham'sBarrow script as a "starting point" forThe Expendables.^[11] In 2010,Legendary Pictures hired Callaham to write the first draft forGodzilla, for which he received a story credit.^[12] In 2014, Callaham completed a production rewrite forAnt-Man, and in 2019, he co-wrote theZombieland sequel,Zombieland: Double Tap, forSony. He also worked on the yet-unproducedJackpot forFocus Features andAmerica: The Motion Picture forNetflix.^[13][14]

In October 2016,Universal Pictures hired Callaham to rewriteThe Wolf Man for theirDark Universe.^[15] In September 2017,Patty Jenkins hired Callaham to write the script forWonder Woman 1984 with her andGeoff Johns.^[16] In November 2018,Sony Pictures Animation hired Callaham to write a sequel toSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.^[17] The following month,Marvel Studios hired Callaham to write the screenplay fora film based on Shang-Chi.^[18] 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 ofWalt Disney Pictures' live-action remake ofHercules.^[19] In June 2022, it was reported that he left the project.^[20] In January 2022, Callaham was announced to have written the latest draft of screenplay of theMasters of the Universe reboot forNetflix, along withAaron and Adam Nee.^[21] On May 1, 2024 it was confirmed that theMasters of the Universe film would now be released throughAmazon MGM Studios andMattel Films and would be directed byTravis Knight with a screenplay written byChris Butler that would be based on the initial draft written by Callaham andAaron and Adam Nee.^[22]

On May 10, 2024, it was announced that Callaham, who wrote the early drafts toGodzilla (2014), would write a follow-up toGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire.^[23]

In late 2013,Nu Image and Millennium Films filed a lawsuit against Callaham and the Writers Guild of America West for fraud, unjust enrichment, and declaratory relief over a "flawed and misinformed" Guild arbitration that gave Callaham undeserved writing credit forThe Expendables andThe Expendables 2.

The plaintiffs accused Callaham of intentionally withholding emails and other correspondences from the WGA screenwriting credit arbitration panel in 2009 that reportedly reveal how very little Callaham was involved withThe Expendables. They demanded reimbursements from Callaham for any payments made to him for his fraudulent credit in the two films.^[24] Callaham then asserted thatSylvester Stallone used his script,Barrow, as the source forThe Expendables. A WGA arbitration was ignited in which Callaham won and additionally earned $102,250 in bonus payments. Stallone offered a sworn declaration that attested he had usedBarrow as inspiration for hisExpendables script.^[25]

• David Callaham atIMDb

• 1977 births
• American male screenwriters
• American writers of Chinese descent
• Living people
• Screenwriters from California
• Sony Pictures Animation people
• University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni
• Writers from Fresno, California

• Articles with short description
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• Use American English from June 2023
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