The Writers Guild of America’s landmark strike to create a better system for creatives in the streaming economy has picked up a colossal wing of support with SAG-AFTRA, most notably members of the Screen Actors Guild, which officially joined the work stoppage on July 14. When the strike was limited to the WGA, much of the focus was on how it halted production on major television shows like Stranger Things, Severance, and Yellowjackets, popular projects that were nevertheless in the distance. But with onscreen talent entering the fray, more immediate Hollywood blockbusters are now affected.
Much like the writers’ strike, SAG-AFTRA members are concerned about how unprecedented new technology could affect their career stability and working conditions. (This is the first actors’ strike in 42 years—the last one endured for over three months and focused largely on performers earning residuals for home media.) One of the biggest concerns is the studios’ use of AI to scan actors, and thus potentially use their likeness in perpetuity without needed consent or compensation. (A new Black Mirror episode satirizing Netflix’s use of this tech is eerily prescient.) The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has disputed this characterization of the proposal.
This strike is dominating the press cycle even more than the writers’ strike has, since it centers on such recognizable faces on the picket line. SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher went viral with a powerful speech calling for performers to no longer be “marginalized, disrespected, and dishonored” by dehumanizing, profit-seeking corporate entities. Stars like Jason Sudeikis and Rosario Dawson are showing up on picket lines; meanwhile, big events like the July 13 Oppenheimer premiere featured stars walking off the red carpet as a sign of solidarity. Given the complexities of the issues at hand, and the leverage held by two of the most important labor unions in Hollywood, this 2023 strike could last for even longer, meaning multiple high-profile productions will be indefinitely paused.
Below are some of the most notable movies to have already stopped shooting due to the strikes. GQ will continue to update this piece as more information is released.
Deadpool 3: One of the first movies to cease production, Variety reported early on July 14 that filming had stopped just a few days after giving fans a glimpse at the much-hyped reunion of Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Due for release in May 2024, the timeline on Deadpool 3 seems extremely tight, and given the total uncertainty over how long the SAG strike will last–Drescher said “there’s no way to predict” a timetable–it’s easy to foresee the film being pushed back.
Gladiator 2: Another major sequel due for release next year, fans excited about Ridley Scott’s 20-years-in-the-making Gladiator followup are probably going to have to show a little more patience. The movie’s unbelievable cast—Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Denzel Washington—has made Gladiator 2 one of the most buzzed action dramas in years. But overseas production has been stopped roughly halfway through filming due to the strike. This will be the second significant delay to production, as a stunt accident in early June injured multiple crew members and forced a first halt.
Juror #2: The next, and reportedly final, film in Clint Eastwood’s productive late-career period tells the tense story of a jury member realizing he is the one at fault for a victim’s death, not the person on trial for murder. Nicholas Hoult plays the lead role, while Toni Collette, Zoey Deutch, and Kiefer Sutherland round out the cast. Variety reported that shooting in Savannah, Georgia, will be suspended due to the strike.
Brad Pitt’s Formula 1 movie: Any fan of F1 knows that seeing A-list celebrities in the paddock is normal, but Brad Pitt has been really, really involved as he preps for a racing movie directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski and starring Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, and Javier Bardem in other key roles. Pitt, who appeared at the British Grand Prix and has driven an F2 car on the actual track, has immersed himself in the world of F1 to play a mentor–slash–aging whiz.
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning, Part Two: Production on the follow-up to the reigning No. 1 movie in America is already mostly finished. Producer-director Christopher McQuarrie told Collider that, as of early July, “we’ve shot all but one of our international locations.” Still, given the scale of Tom Cruise and McQuarrie’s action epics, and the need to make this a satisfying conclusion to the franchise’s first two-part entry, the scenes left to shoot are presumably pretty colossal. Dead Reckoning, Part Two is slated for a June 28, 2024, release, though these last crucial scenes won’t be filmed during the strike.
Venom 3: The third entry in Tom Hardy’s delightfully weird antihero saga started filming in June, with a strong cast including Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor. There are few concrete plot details about Eddie Brock’s next odyssey, though it comes from a story by Hardy and writer-director Kelly Marcel. (Some outlets have posited that the film’s shooting location and a few set-picture leaks mean it could connect to the Day of the Dead.) Back in June, Variety reported a rumored release date sometime in October 2024, another one that seems difficult to imagine with a protracted strike, though it would lend credence to the popular otherworldly holiday being prominent.
Beetlejuice 2: Almost to the finish line, Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice sequel “was still expected to film one last sequence in Vermont,” though the brunt of shooting had been completed. (Jenny Ortega, who has become something of a lightning rod in the WGA for comments made about her involvement in Wednesday’s writing, was spotted in Vermont shortly before the strike began.) The film is bringing back Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara, while adding Ortega and Justin Theroux to the cast, but the plot has been kept tightly underwraps. Maybe Burton can spend this time getting the original sequel idea, Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, back from the dead.