It has been reported that the ongoing Hollywood actors’ strike could see next year's movie releases pushed back to 2025 and .
The three-month Sag-Aftra strike, which started in July, is continuing on after talks between actors and studios broke down last week, despite the WGA recently reaching a deal.
Entertainment reporter Stephanie Aly spoke about the actors' strike during an appearance on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday, where she addressed the potential delays and said the 2023/24 TV season may not be able to be "salvaged" due to negotiations breaking down.
The showbiz expert added that not only could Hollywood's 2023 Christmas schedule be affected by the ongoing action, but also movies set for release next year could be delayed until 2025 due to projects being halted.
When asked if Christmas television would be affected, she said: “Probably yes. There was hope that if they could get the actors back from the strike by the end of this month then we might be able to salvage some of the 2023/2024 television season as well as some upcoming movie releases.
“But now with the studios walking away from negotiations, it's looking like we might not be able to salvage any of the television season and 2024 releases may end up being pushed to 2025.”
The industry comments come after a tentative deal was reached between union leaders and Hollywood studios to end the historic screenwriters strike that has gone on for nearly five months.
Last month, the Writers Guild of America announced the deal in a joint statement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents studios, streaming services and production companies in negotiations.
“WGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP,” the guild said in an email to members.
“This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who joined us on the picket lines for over 146 days.
The three-year contract agreement — settled on after five marathon days of renewed talks by WGA and AMPTP negotiators that was joined at times by studio executives — must be approved by the guild’s board and members before the strike officially ends.
In a longer message from the guild shared by members on social media, the writers were told the strike is not over and no one was to return to work until hearing otherwise, but picketing is to be suspended immediately.
The terms of the deal were not immediately announced.
The tentative deal to end the last writers strike, in 2008, was approved by more than 90% of members.The agreement comes just five days before the strike would’ve become the longest in the guild’s history, and the longest Hollywood strike more than 70 years.
