Major productions, from big-budget sequels to auteur projects, have been forced to pause as a result of the Screen Actors Guild (Sag) strike.
The strike, which started last week as a result of studios refusing to meet demands concerning fair pay and use of artificial intelligence, comes as the industry is already reckoning with a writers’ strike.
Sag has agreed to a number of waivers that allow independent productions, unaffiliated with studios or streamers involved in the discussions, to proceed including Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel’s pop star drama Mother Mary and Rebel Wilson’s action comedy Bride Hard. But the overwhelming majority of films and shows currently shooting have had to shut down.
Here are some of the most notable:
Gladiator 2
Ridley Scott’s belated sequel to his Oscar-winning hit is set to star Oscar nominee Paul Mescal as the nephew of Russell Crowe’s deceased hero, vowing revenge, with Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal also appearing. While Crowe has said he’s “slightly jealous”, the Aftersun star has referred to it as “an intimidating feat”. Filming started in June in Morocco with a stunt accident leading to a fire that injured six crew members. Bad luck continued with July bringing production to a temporary close. According to Variety, about 400 people in Malta were stopped mid-production.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part Two
As the Covid-affected seventh instalment of the Mission: Impossible franchise finally wows cinemagoers, the summer 2024 release of its follow-up may also be struck by delays. While the majority of Dead Reckoning: Part Two has reportedly been filmed (including major scenes in the Arctic), parts of the production were being held until promotional duties of the first part had been completed. Christopher McQuarrie, the writer and director, recently said of the eighth film: “I don’t know what the ending of Part Two is, so I couldn’t tell you.” Surviving members of the cast, including Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell, will return with Hannah Waddingham, Nick Offerman and Janet McTeer joining.
Deadpool 3
With superhero films underperforming at the box office this year, many a hope is being pinned on Deadpool 3, the third in a franchise that has already made over $1.5bn at the global box office. Just days after a first look at the film teased the arrival of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine alongside Ryan Reynolds’ eponymous antihero, the Sag strike shut down production. The writers’ strike had already meant that, unlike with the first two films, Reynolds wasn’t allowed to contribute any quips that would change the pre-existing script.
Juror #2
Clint Eastwood’s final film, legal thriller Juror #2, kicked off filming in June in Georgia, with Nicholas Hoult playing a juror who discovers that he has a surprising connection to the murder trial he is serving on. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the director “wanted to find one last project in order to be able to ride off into the sunset with his head held high”. The film, which also stars Toni Collette and Kiefer Sutherland, was later suspended with the strike.
Beetlejuice 2
Tim Burton’s long-gestating follow-up to 1988’s Beetlejuice was finally announced last year with comeback kid Michael Keaton returning alongside Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara. (Keaton has teased the sequel’s use of practical effects, saying that they are “doing it exactly like we did the first movie”.) The film, which also stars Wednesday breakout Jenna Ortega as the daughter of Ryder’s character, began filming in the UK in May but was later paused.
Venom 3
The as-yet-untitled third film in the commercially lucrative Venom series (the first films have made over $1.3bn worldwide) is set to bring back star Tom Hardy with Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor joining. Filming began at the end of June in Spain with an October 2024 release date confirmed but before a proposed London shoot could get under way, production was halted. “Constant change is the nature of the production business,” Kevin Feige, the Marvel chief, wrote in an email to staff.
Wicked
The big-screen adaptation of the long-running smash hit musical Wicked has also been halted after a series of delays caused by the Covid pandemic. Development was announced in 2012 before casting was revealed in 2021 and production started in 2022, with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the leads and the director of Crazy Rich Asians, Jon M Chu, at the helm. Split into two parts, the shoot began in the UK before being suspended earlier this month.
