Photo-Illustration: Vulture
For the first time in 63 years, the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild are on strike at the same time. Writers have been on the picket lines since May 2, and on July 13, Screen Actors Guild president Fran Drescher, formally known as the nanny named Fran, announced actors would be joining the writers officially beginning at midnight on July 14. This historic stand is in response to stalled negotiations with studios on fair compensation, self-tape auditions, and AI, among other sticking points. While on strike, actors can’t act or promote, which leaves studios with blank pages and empty sets. Below, a running list of productions that have been affected by the actor’s strike so far.
Deadpool’s much anticipated (mainly by Ryan Reynolds) return to the screen has been delayed due to a pause in filming. The third installment of the franchise was slated to be released on May 3, 2024. This time, the movie will be introducing Emma Corrin as a villain and reintroduce Jennifer Garner as Elektra and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
Let us be mad, let us be hateful that studios are holding us back from seeing a green Cynthia Erivo tear up Stephen Schwartz’s score. Wicked has paused filming with reportedly only ten days of production left, according to Broadway World. Cast members Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, and Bowen Yang have voiced their support for the actor’s strike, which means union chants will become a little more beautiful, but theaters will be devoid of the Wicked movies, initially set to be released in 2024 and 2025, for a while longer.
Per SAG-AFTRA’s rules, production will not resume for Mission Impossible 8 after a planned hiatus, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The guild’s guidelines have pointedly stated that, in no uncertain terms, doing Tom Crusian things like performing stunts and flying planes on-camera will not be permitted throughout the duration of the strike. So, naturally, the eighth (when will it end) installment of the series, whose seventh movie was just released, will be delayed until further notice. The movie was supposed to be released on June 28, 2024.
Per Variety, production is paused on the Tim Burton–directed affair, initially slated for September 6, 2024 (right in time for Halloween). Saying “Beetlejuice” three times won’t bring it back, but fair wages just might (ahem, Warner Bros.). The now–Emmy nominated queen of darkness and apathy, Jenna Ortega, plays the daughter of Winona Ryder’s character, Lydia Deetz. None other than Mr. Juice himself, Michael Keaton, was also set to step into his iconic striped suit once more, as well as Catherine O’Hara who will be reprising her role as Delia Deetz. You know, once the strike is over.
The news of Gladiator 2 production being halted halfway through filming, according to Deadline, leaves 20-year-old fans of Normal People and middle age fathers all around the world crestfallen with only Paul Mescal getting buff to comfort them. The Ridley Scott film was set for November 24, 2024.
Production on Lily & Stitch, Disney’s most recent victim of criminal CGI, has paused, according to Variety. The live-action version of the 2002 movie started filming in Hawaii in April. The studio had yet to set a release date. Alexa, play “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride (Sad Girl Version).”
Very little has been released about Venom 3, including its release date, but Tom Hardy’s return to the gooey suit, as well as his return as a co-writer, alongside Kelly Marcel, will have to wait until production unpauses, per THR.