Shay Hatten

Biography

Shay Hatten was born on March 18, 1994, in Oakland, California. He graduated from Moscow High School in 2012 and pursued film and television studies at Loyola Marymount University, completing his degree in 2016..

Career Beginnings

After college, Hatten began his career as an intern and writing assistant at Team Downey, the production company founded by Robert Downey Jr. During this time, he wrote his first spec script, Maximum King!, a fictionalized account of Stephen King's experience directing Maximum Overdrive. This script gained attention and was featured on the 2016 Black List, a compilation of Hollywood's most-liked unproduced screenplays.

Breakthrough with Ballerina and the John Wick Franchise

Hatten's next spec script, Ballerina, centered on a young female assassin and caught the attention of Lionsgate, which purchased it in 2017. The script's tone and style led to Hatten being brought on as a co-writer for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019). He continued his involvement with the franchise by contributing to John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) and the upcoming spinoff Ballerina (2025), directed by Len Wiseman.

Collaborations with Zack Snyder

Hatten has also collaborated extensively with director Zack Snyder. He co-wrote Army of the Dead (2021) and its prequel, Army of Thieves (2021). Their partnership continued with the two-part science fiction epic Rebel Moon, with Part One: A Child of Fire released in 2023 and Part Two: The Scargiver slated for 2024. Hatten is also involved in developing Planet of the Dead, a sequel to Army of the Dead.

Television Work

In television, Hatten wrote and executive-produced the pilot for Future Cult Classic, a satirical series for Syfy. He also contributed as a writer and executive producer for the 2021 Amazon Prime series I Know What You Did Last Summer. The Movie Database+2

Upcoming Projects

Looking ahead, Hatten is set to write the screenplay for an untitled Resident Evil reboot, directed by Zach Cregger, scheduled for release in 2026.