Venom 3, Gladiator 2, And All The Other Productions Halted As Hollywood Strikes

Alfred Hitchcock once said that "to make a great film you need three things — the script, the script, and the script." Now, for the eighth time since the 1950s, Hollywood is learning this lesson the hard way, as the Writers Guild of America has officially been on strike since May 2, 2023. 

Not included on Hitchcock's list of things you need to make a great film, but still quite important nonetheless, are actors. And as of July 14, 2023, Hollywood's actors have joined writers on strike after talks between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP broke down. Among other differences of opinion, the studios apparently proposed that they should be able to pay a background performer for a single day's work, scan them in order to create a digital double of them, and then own their likeness to use for the rest of eternity while paying them nothing else. So keep that in mind when studio heads claim that the union's demands are "disturbing."

With productions already 80 shut down thanks to persistent picketing from WGA members, Hollywood now faces a near-total shutdown, with only a few overseas productions carrying on amid the double strike. Here are all the movies and TV shows that have been impacted so far.

Last updated: July 14, 2023

Production on "House of the Dragon" season 2 is continuing in spite of the WGA strike, but the same cannot be said for upcoming "game of Thrones" spinoff "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight," which was still in pre-production. Author George R.R. Martin confirmed in a blog post that the writers room for "The Hedge Knight" has closed "for the duration." Though he won't be on the picket line himself (since he's not in Los Angeles) Martin said, "I want to go on the record with my full and complete and unequivocal support of my Guild."

He also offered an explanation for why "House of the Dragon" season 2 is still filming, saying that the scripts were finished months ago and "every episode has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions, to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc. There will be no further revisions."

No doubt anticipating the first thing that would come to mind for "A Song of Ice and Fire" readers when they heard "George R.R. Martin" and "writers strike," the author added, parenthetically:

Some of you, I fear, may be having anxiety attacks just now, on the mistaken assumption that this strike affects WINDS OF WINTER. You can relax. The WGA is a union of film and television writers. It has nothing to do with novels, short stories, or any other form of prose fiction, nor comic books and graphic novels, nor stage plays, nor the editing of collections and anthologies I have on-going projects in all those areas, and that work continues unabated. And WINDS continues to be priority number one.

You can say his name however many times you like, but "Beetlejuice 2" might not show up in time for its planned release date of September 6, 2024. The sequel has been filming in London since May, but the production had most recently moved to the original movie's filming location of East Corinth, Vermont, where star Jenna Ortega was spotted shooting scenes. Variety reports that while principal photography was close to being completed, there was "one last sequence" to be filmed in East Corinth that will now have to wait. A start could be made on post-production, with the remaining pages of the script potentially bundled into reshoots later on — but of course, reshoots cannot take place until the actors strike ends, and if any changes are needed to the script, they'll have to wait until the writers strike ends.

A key point of contention in the negotiations between the WGA and the AMPTP is the issue of artificial intelligence in writing. While current large language models like ChatGPT are a long way off from actually being able to replace writers, the concern among WGA members is that studios will use AI to create contractual loopholes allowing them to pay writers less. For example, an AI program could generate a first draft of a script (however unusable), and the studio could then bring in a writer to "adapt" the "source material" for less than they'd be paid for an original script.

"We believe that is not source material, any more than a Wikipedia article is source material," former WGA board member John August told Vox. "That's the crux of what we're negotiating."

It's thematically on-point, therefore, that one of the productions impacted by the strike is "Blade Runner 2099," a TV series spin-off of the original 1982 film by Ridley Scott, set in a world where corporations had replaced humans with replicants — bioengineered slave labor. "Blade Runner 2099" was ordered to series by Amazon in September 2022 and was set to begin production in Belfast soon. Northern Ireland Screen confirmed to Deadline that the series has been delayed, stating:

"Northern Ireland Screen is extremely disappointed that Blade Runner 2099 is not going ahead at this time due to the ongoing writers' strike. The project has been prepping on the ground in Belfast for many months now. The WGA strike has been halting production all over the world and we hope a fair deal is reached soon so crew can get back to work."

Filming could now be pushed back to spring 2024. Scott is attached as an executive producer, with Silka Luisa ("Shining Girls") serving as showrunner.

"Cobra Kai" is a show where words can sometimes hit harder than fists, so the writers strike certainly throws a wrench in the works for season 6. Co-creator Jon Hurwitz wrote on Twitter: "We hate to strike, but if we must, we strike hard. Pencils down in the Cobra Kai writers room. No writers on set."

That last part is indicative of filming going ahead without the writers — at least for a while. On May 4, costume designer Frank Helmer posted a photo of the costume room on his Instagram story with the caption "Welcome to Shoot Day 1," which is in line with Ralph Macchio saying earlier this year that the start of filming was penciled in for May. Production can begin using scripts that were written prior to the strike, but having no writers available for rewrites, no writers on set, and episodes still to be written could eventually force a full shutdown.

The opening title sequence for "Deadpool" credited star Ryan Reynolds as "God's Perfect Idiot" and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick as "The Real Heroes Here." All three returned for upcoming sequel "Deadpool 3," which will also star Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Jennifer Garner as Elektra, but now perfect idiots and real heroes alike are on strike. The production had been continuing amid the writers strike despite the fact that Reynolds was a co-writer on the script this time around, and is known for improvising dialogue. However, while it might have been able to muddle along without writers (albeit looking suspiciously scabby), the actors strike has firmly shut "Deadpool 3" down. The superhero movie had been shooting since May 2023 and was set for a May 2024 release date, which now looks pretty unlikely.

Despite being a sequel to a movie about oppressed colosseum workers striking out against the power of Rome, Ridley Scott's "Gladiator 2" had been planning to go ahead with filming in Malta despite the writers strike. But the SAG-AFTRA strike has had an impact far beyond the picket lines, and the Times of Malta reports that preparations for a shutdown began in the days leading up to the strike being announced. Filming began in June and was expected to last for four months. A short strike might make it possible for "Gladiator 2" to hit its planned release date of November 22, 2024, but given the epic scale expected of the film, a longer halt in filming could result in it being pushed back to 2025.

Not since Gillian Flynn has there been so much furor about an author whose novels seem written expressly for the screen. But Colleen Hoover's entree into the lucrative, yet often erratic hustle of film adaptations will have to wait a bit longer. "It Ends With Us," the first of likely many adaptations of the prolific author's books, has been in development at Sony since at least January. But as of June 16, Deadline is reporting that the film has been delayed until the WGA reaches a deal with the studios.

Director, producer, and star Justin Baldoni ("Jane the Virgin") failed to persuade the WGA that his Wayfarer Pictures, which is co-financing the film, is financing enough of the film to satisfy WGA guidelines to maintain through the strike. But as the film's primary producer is Sony Pictures, a member of the AMPTP which is currently at the bargaining table, the appeal was rejected.

"It Ends With Us" was less than halfway through its shoot when the decision to halt production came down, according to Deadline. When the project does kick back up and eventually wrap, it could very well be a gem for Sony, and it'll certainly be a balm for viewers in a release market saturated with superhero films, action franchise installments, and horror flicks. Blake Lively will lead the cast as Lily Bloom, a flower shop owner who falls into a frothy, delirious love triangle with restauranteur Atlas Corrigan and neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. Yes, it's that kind of romance!

We'll have to wait to see how Lively, Baldoni, and the rest of the cast (which includes Jenny Slate and Hasan Minhaj) and crew bring this one to life.

Like "Evil," production on Apple TV+ comedy series "Loot" was shut down following direct picketing of the shoot. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "picketing members of the Writers Guild of America arrived at the Bel-Air mega-mansion that is used for filming the series" (which was in production on season 2). Star and executive producer Maya Rudolph "is said to have retreated to her trailer, unwilling to return to work." 

We don't yet know if this production shutdown is temporary or whether it will continue for the duration of the WGA strike, but the latter seems likely. In addition to Rudolph reportedly refusing to resume filming, co-creator Matt Hubbard said on Twitter that he "enthusiastically voted yes" in the strike authorization vote. Rudolph's co-star Joel Kim Booster (who is also a screenwriter and on strike as a WGA member) has been vocal about the industrial action on Twitter. 

In theory, Rudolph and Booster are not excused from their acting duties by the strike, and Apple could also put pressure on Hubbard and his co-showrunner Alan Yang to continue their "non-writing" duties. However, it's very difficult to extricate the writing parts of running a show from the producing parts when the smallest change to a line on set qualifies as writing duties. For similar reasons, actors rewriting or improvising dialogue is considered by many to be scabbing.

Also, given that "Loot" is a show about a billionaire-turned-philanthropist who is trying to reconnect with ordinary people, any form of strikebreaking during production would be kind of a bad look.

"Mission: Impossible" star Tom Cruise has long been engaged in a mad but entertaining game of one-upmanship with himself: trying, in each new entry, to outdo the last movie's ridiculously dangerous stunt setpieces. But the production of "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" was notable for something besides Cruise fighting on top of a train and riding a motorcycle off a cliff. From the date when filming was scheduled to begin to when director Christopher McQuarrie finally wrapped production, more than three years passed.

"Dead Reckoning — Part One" faced a lengthy shutdown at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and numerous delays and smaller shutdowns throughout as McQuarrie and Cruise scrambled to find countries and locations where it was possible to film. Now, with around 40 percent of "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning — Part Two" in the can, that movie has faced its own production shutdown due to the writers strike. Since the "Mission: Impossible" movies are constantly being written and rewritten throughout filming (the bike stunt was filmed with zero context, and written into the script afterwards), nothing can go ahead until McQuarrie and co-writer Erik Jendresen can put pen to paper again. 

McQuarrie himself confirmed that production on "Dead Reckoning — Part Two" has stalled, saying with a sigh, "It's unrelenting ... Behind each tsunami is another tsunami. We live in a state of 24-hour tsunami awareness. That's just what we do."

When Starz's underrated hit series "P-Valley" was renewed for a third season last year, creator and showrunner Katori Hall said, "It's gonna take us a Mississippi minute before we're back on your screens again, but best believe it'll be well worth the wait." 

Fans may have to hold on to that promise a little while longer than expected, as Hall confirmed on Twitter that the start of filming has been postponed until the writers strike comes to an end. "Like many of my fellow showrunners, I feel as though my writing & producing duties are inextricably linked. We will not be filming until a fair deal is reached," said Hall, adding, "I am also a member of the DGA [Director's Guild of America], whose AMPTP contract begins negotiations TODAY. Overlapping issues abound and we shall see how these stories end."

"P-Valley" was renewed for another 10-episode season in 2022. Per Deadline, filming on season 3 hadn't yet started and Hall is referring to work being suspended in the writers room. However, the pause in writing will inevitably have an effect on when the cameras can roll again, especially since the showrunner considers her producing duties to be inextricable from her writing duties (Hall wrote or co-wrote almost all of the episodes from the previous two seasons).

The writers on "Saturday Night Live" have one of the toughest jobs in the biz. A production week consists of pitching sketches on Monday, writing them up between on Tuesday — sometimes working through the night to get them ready for a 5pm rehearsal on Wednesday — and then spending the rest of the week doing re-writes as the cast rehearses and the pre-taped sketches are filmed. "SNL" writer Steven W Thrasher recalled that "from 10-11 or so on Saturday night, the show would be chaotically re-written in time, hopefully, for the 11:30 live broadcast."

Needless to say, there's no way "Saturday Night Live" could exist without its writers, so production on the show has been suspended since the WGA strike began. In a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter), NBC said that "SNL will air repeats until further notice starting Saturday, May 6."

The May 6 episode would have marked the return of former cast member Pete Davidson, who was set to host the show with musical guest Lil Uzi Vert. "Saturday Night Live" recently averted another strike-related disruption when Quinta Brunson was set to host during an editors' strike on April 1. In that case, the strike was averted when the editors reached a deal with NBC and ratified their first-ever union contract, granting them an immediate pay boost alongside other benefits. 

The third season of "Strange New Worlds" is still a few klicks away, given that season 2 doesn't premiere until June 15, 2023. However, Paramount+ officially renewed the "Star Trek" series for season 3 back in March. According to the Directors Guild of Canada (via Trek Central) filming was scheduled to begin on May 2, but those filming dates were removed on April 17 — the day WGA members voted to authorize strike action. 

While participating in a WGA picket line, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" executive producer Henry Alonso Meyers confirmed in an interview with Larry Nemecek's Trekland, "We won't be able to shoot any of [season 3] until after the strike is done, yeah."

"Strange New Worlds" season 2 is premiering around 13 months after the show's debut season, so it's likely that the original plan for season 3 was a summer 2024 premiere date. Depending on how long the strike lasts, fans may have to wait a little longer to get back to the Enterprise.

In late May, three weeks out from filming, "Thunderbolts" — the fifth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Five — halted production amid the writers strike. While Marvel Studios or anyone involved with the film has yet to comment at the time of writing, insiders say that cameras won't roll until the WGA strike has ended. Marvel movies are big notorious beasts that require frequent rewriting on set, so it makes sense that "Thunderbolts" isn't going on the floors.

That said, "Deadpool 3" entered production just days before we got the "Thunderbolts" news; very curious as to how Marvel and Ryan Reynolds plan to make this happen. Also, "Captain America: New World Order" — which is set to release in theatres just a couple of months before "Thunderbolts" — continues filming amid the strike and is expected to wrap up by June end. The "Captain America" team is relying on scheduled reshoots, with the hope the strike would be done by the time those happen.

If the writers strike goes on for months, as it's expected to, there will no doubt be a cascading effect on MCU release dates. "Thunderbolts," scheduled for July 2024, has a little over a year for production and post-production — a tight schedule to work with, and that was before the new delay.

If anyone knows the meaning of solidarity, it's a symbiote. Sony sequel "Venom 3" had been filming in Spain with star Tom Hardy and supporting actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple, but Variety reports that crew were given notice of a filming pause on the Monday prior to the strike being declared. This suggests that the studios knew a deal wouldn't be reached at least a few days in advance, which fits with reports that talks fell apart on the Friday before the extended deadline for negotiations. The cameras had only been rolling on "Venom 3" for a couple of weeks when work was halted, so there's not a lot in the can yet. The movie had been targeted for an October 2024 release window, but if the strike drags on it's likely to be pushed back.

"Yellowjackets" season 2 is currently still airing, but the hit Showtime mystery-thriller was renewed for season 3 before the second season even premiered. Depending on how long the writers strike lasts, it may take a while longer than expected to return to the wilderness after the current batch of episodes finishes airing. Co-creator Ashley Lyle wrote on Twitter:

Well, we had exactly one day in the YellowJackets S3 writers' room. It was amazing, and creatively invigorating, and so much fun, and I'm very excited to get back to it as soon as the WGA gets a fair deal.

According to Showtime (via Variety), the "Yellowjackets" season 2 premiere became the network's most-streamed premiere ever with two million viewers across all platforms — a figure that doubled to four million within the week (per Deadline). If the WGA strike stretches on to the point that the planned production start date has to be pushed back, it could be a painful blow for Showtime (and parent company Paramount). Meanwhile, Misty Quigley is with the union; actress Samantha Hanratty was photographed on the picket line with "Abbott Elementary" showrunner Quinta Brunson.