New Release Dates From 14 Movies & TV Shows Delayed by the SAG Strike
Now that the SAG strike is over, see all the movies and TV shows continuing production and their new release dates.
For the first time in 63 years, Hollywood shut down. Following a collapse of contract negotiations between the SAG-AFTRA (a labor union that represents Hollywood actors) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — the organization that represents major studios including Amazon, Netflix, Disney, Apple, and Paramount — effective July 14 Hollywood actors went on strike.
Actor and SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement that "SAG-AFTRA negotiated in good faith and was eager to reach a deal that sufficiently addressed performer needs," but "the companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us."
Action was immediately taken, as on July 13 the entire Oppenheimer cast walked out of their screening during the U.K. premiere. It's worth mentioning that this actors' strike was happening at the same as the screenwriters' strike, which began earlier this year in May due to similar failed contract negotiations.
(On a positive note, for House of the Dragon fans, filming was able to move forward with production throughout the strike due to the main cast being from the U.K.)
There were also a few independent productions that were not impacted by the strike. This included Mother Mary starring Anne Hathaway, Hunter Schafer, and Michaela Coel, Death of a Unicorn starring Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd, and The Rivals of Amziah King starring Matthew McConaughey. These films were all waived from the strike because they had no connections to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
In recent news, after a chaotic summer with a severe lack of red carpets and actors going radio silent, both strikes finally come to an end. The writers were the first to strike a deal, followed by the actors shortly after.
Now production can continue, below, L'OFFICIEL takes a look at the new release dates from the top movies and TV shows that
TV Shows
Emmy-nominated show The Last of Us was met with total success, bringing in more than 8 million viewers by its finale. The announcement for Season 2 was confirmed almost immediately, however, due to the writers' strike, progress for the upcoming season has been slow, arguably nonexistent. With the writers now back in the workroom, the script process has begun and is being prioritized by HBO. There's still no exact release date, but filming is set to begin in January 2024 and likely won't be released until late 2024 to early 2025.
Euphoria Season 3 was already announced to be delayed due to the writers' strike and Sam Levinson's focus on his show The Idol. The script is now in process, however, fans likely won't expect new episodes any earlier than 2025.
Netflix's original series Emily in Paris was renewed for Season 4 following its success with the past three seasons. Though the strikes caused setbacks, Netflix shared that filming is to begin in both Italy and Paris starting January 15, 2024. There is still no official release date.
Stranger Things Season 5 was meant to begin filming in May 2023, not wrapping up until June 2024. With all the setbacks, filming is not set to begin until 2024 followed by what seems to appear a no earlier than 2025 release date.
Season 3 of The White Lotus had already begun the production process, with reports of filming taking place in Thailand. In October 2023, HBO revealed that the third season wouldn't be premiering until 202. According to Deadline, casting is currently taking place, stating, "Thirteen roles are currently casting, nine of them series regulars — ranging in ages between 18-80s — with a patriarch, a corporate executive, an actress, a couple of mothers, a misfit and a yogi among the bunch."
Yellowjackets Season 3 was renewed all the way back in December 2022 and had exactly one day in the writer's room before the strike began. Though production has now resumed there is still no confirmed release date.
Movies
Challengers, starring Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist, was on track to become one of 2023's most highly anticipated films. Now, due to the strikes, its original release date of September 15 has been pushed back to April 26, 2024.
While filming for Dune Part 2 finished in December 2022 and the release date was supposed to be November 17, 2023. However, this has been pushed back to March 1, 2024, largely due to the actors' inability to promote the movie. The film is set to star Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and Léa Seydoux.
Deadpool 3 starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman just began filming on July 10 in the U.K., however, has immediately stopped filming amidst the actors' strike. It was originally scheduled to release in May 2024, but now has its release date pushed back to July 26, 2024.
The Tim Burton-directed film Beetlejuice 2 starring Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder has been put on pause. Filming already began in the early summer of 2023 but did not finish before the strikes began. That said, as of now it is still set to stay on course of its original timeline and be released September 6, 2024.
Another victim that had already begun filming, It Ends With Us starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni was estimated to be released in early 2024, but did not finish production before the strike. It appears the strikes didn't affect the film too badly as the set release date is currently February 9, 2024.
After the unexpected ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, many Marvel fans questioned if we would see Tom Holland revive his role in another Spider-Man movie. While Spider-Man 4 was confirmed, Holland stated that it has "been put on pause in solidarity with the writers' [strike]" while on a press tour for his show The Crowded Room. Even with the strikes over, there has been no further updates about the film.
The long-awaited sequel to Gladiator, Gladiator 2 was finally in motion before it was put on pause. Throughout the strikes though, there was speculation that filming was still underway by shooting as many scenes with the stunt doubles and having the main actors "close by," per a tweet from the Alliance of Practitioners, Artists, and Crew. The current release date is November 22, 2024.
One of the most anticipated movies of 2024, Wicked (starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, and Jonathan Bailey) has been filming since late 2022, with reports stating it is near completion. There was speculation that even with the strikes, there was enough of the film completed to not negatively impact the release dates. Being released in two separate parts, Part One is scheduled to be released on November 27, 2024, followed by Part Two around the same time in 2025.
