The Actors’ Strike is Over, and Movies are About to Shoot Again
Alex Gherzo | Nov 9, 2023 |
Mark Ruffalo can put his “Ewww Poor People” clothes away because the Actors’ Strike is officially over. Last night (technically this morning since it was after midnight, but don’t be one of those people), the Screen Actors’ Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached a tentative agreement, which will now go through the union channels to be ratified. This ends a 118-day strike that saw movie and TV production shut down and a bunch of tent pole films get delayed. The details aren’t known yet; mostly, what’s being reported is SAG patting itself on the back. (Although as much they’re playing themselves up as conquering heroes, the studios made it clear that this was their last chance to get a deal till next year.) But they claim they got a minimum wage increase, streaming residuals, “consent and compensation protections” for AI use, and “sizable contract increases on items across the board.” That last one is great because it could mean anything.
Regardless of the details, the strikes are over, which means movie production is about to start up again. Deadline exclusively reports that the studios have been conducting pre-production on a number of films so they could start filming again as soon as possible in anticipation of the strike ending. The top priority, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger, is to preserve as much of the summer movie season as they can, which means the tent poles are the focus right now. Beetlejuice 2 is a priority, and since Tim Burton said it was almost wrapped when the strike began, it’s expected to be ready for its September release. The next Spider-Verse movie, Beyond the Spider-Verse, was supposed to hit theaters in the spring, but there’s still voice work to record, so a 2024 release is uncertain. And Superman: Legacy will likely start shooting in March of 2024 and be released on June 11, 2025. Speaking of which, a lot of casting news is probably going to come flooding in over the next few weeks now that deals are allowed to be struck and ones that came down to the wire are allowed to be announced, or at least they will be soon. So we may know who the new Lex Luthor is in time for Thanksgiving.
Did Dogpool save the day? Not a chance in gremlin hell. But she IS currently causing the Disney plushy merch department nightmares. Coming with the movie, Summer 2024 🐶💩L pic.twitter.com/mMtUb4wSsk
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) November 9, 2023
Then, there’s Marvel, which has just announced a bunch of release-date shifts. (And when I say “just announced,” I mean I had to rewrite this as I was ready to publish it.) Deadpool 3 is moving from May 3, 2024, to July 26, 2024, with that date’s previous occupant, Captain America: Brave New World, shuffling off to February 14, 2025. (This is despite Brave New World being further along in filming than Deadpool 3, which shows you which of these movies Disney has more faith in.) That date was once held by Blade, which will now move to November 7, 2025. Thunderbolts, which was scheduled to release on December 20, 2024, hasn’t even started production yet, so that is being moved to July 25, 2025. (I think this is the most likely Marvel movie to get scrapped completely, aside from maybe Iron Wars.) Venom 3 is also moving, from July 14, 2024, to November 8, 2024. And, outside of Marvel, Disney is pushing back Mufasa: The Lion King from July 5, 2024, to December 20, 2024.
That was fast, huh? I wonder if this had all been decided in advance. Regardless, Hollywood is moving again, and thank God; otherwise, we wouldn’t be getting… a Lion King prequel about Mufasa.
