Since the start of the writers’ strike, recently joined by actors, filming has been brought to a halt. But which movies and television series are being affected by this historic strike?
“There is strength in numbers” is a timely adage in Hollywood, where actors and screenwriters have joined forces for the first time since 1960 to demand better pay and conditions in the face of the rise of artificial intelligence.
The president of the Hollywood’s actors’ union SAG-Aftra, Fran Drescher – who starred in the sitcom “The Nanny” – denounced the risks of “machines” replacing actors and called for stronger regulation, in particular to prohibit the cloning of actors’ voices and images by AI.
Negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios and streaming platforms, were unsuccessful, and a joint strike with screenwriters was announced – the first in 63 years.
The resulting Hollywood hiatus is already having an impact on the filming of shows and movies. According to NBC, the second installment of “Gladiator”, scheduled for November 2024, has been “impacted” by the strike. Although filming began in June in Malta and Morocco, according to IMDb, there’s no indication yet of whether the release date will have to be pushed back.
The same applies to the second part of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” starring Tom Cruise, scheduled for release on June 28, 2024, with filming due to start after part one’s release on July 12.
Clint Eastwood will also have to wait to start shooting “Juror #2” in Georgia. This could be the director’s last film, which stars Nicholas Hoult but has no scheduled release date.
To this list can be added “Venom 3”, starring Tom Hardy, which began filming in Spain at the end of June, according to The Hollywood Reporter; and “Deadpool 3”, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, which has been filming since the end of May and is scheduled for release on May 3, 2024.
While postponements have not yet been announced, the release of the following movies could be impacted:
- “Kung Fu Panda 4”, scheduled for March 8, 2024;
- “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse”, scheduled for March 29, 2024;
- “Despicable Me 4”, slated for July 3, 2024, and
- “Transformers One”, slated for Sept 13, 2024.
Since the start of the writers’ strike, most TV shows including “Stranger Things” (season 5), “Yellowjackets” (season 3), and the Emmy-winning “Abbott Elementary” (season 3) have also taken a break in support of the professionals.
Moreover, the films “Mortal Kombat 2”, “Beetlejuice 2” with rising star Jenna Ortega, and the series “Apples Never Fall” on Peacock, as well as TV adaptations “Interview with the Vampire” (season 2) and “The Sandman” (season 2) have stopped filming.