Deadpool 3, Captain America 4, Mission: Impossible and More Face Major Issues as Actors' Strike Winds Down

The SAG-AFTRA actors strike has been going on for several months now, shutting down production on a large number of upcoming movies and television shows. There has been no shortage of speculation about when and how that strike will come to a close, especially now that Hollywood's writers strike ended late last month. As a new report from The Wrap indicates, the resuming of production following the SAG-AFTRA strike will not be entirely seamless. According to their report, the biggest priority once the strike ends will be projects that are still in need of ADR and minor reshoots, such as Sony's upcoming Marvel movie Kraven the Hunter, which was delayed from October of 2023 to August of 2024. After that, the priority will be to aid films that had nearly completed their initial filming, such as Warner Bros.' Beetlejuice 2. From there, studios will focus on films that were either partially through production prior to the work stoppage, which could reportedly include Marvel Studios' Deadpool 3, Warner Bros.' Twisters, and Paramount's Gladiator 2 and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two.

"The immediate priority for all studios is to get the movies that were shut down in mid-production up and running again," a top agent explains in the report.

Additionally, the report indicates that "there will be negotiating between studios for all levels of talent for what films get made or promoted first," with a high-ranking distribution executive referring to it as "a full-on horse-trading session." The months-long work stoppage could also create scheduling conflicts for actors, if they need to drop out of a future project in order to make time for work on a partially-completed project, or promotion of an already-completed project.

Will Deadpool 3 Get Delayed?

At the time of this writing, Deadpool 3 is still scheduled for a May 2024 release date — but the timeline of the actors strike has definitely thrown that into question for some fans. As director Shawn Levy explained in an interview earlier this fall, Deadpool 3 was halfway through production prior to the strike's work stoppage. Amid the strikes, Marvel Studios also paused production or pre-production on their upcoming films Thunderbolts and Blade, as well as their upcoming Wonder Man Disney+ series.

"Well, like the rest of our industry, or at least large swaths of it, we are paused. We were halfway through filming Deadpool, co-starring Wolverine. It was a joy every day, and that chemistry is, I have to say, spoiler alert, it is as relentlessly awesome as we had all hoped it would be," Levy revealed. "But we are halfway through filming, we shut down, our crew and the rest of us are awaiting a fair and equitable deal that ends these strikes and puts our industry and certainly inclusive of our movie back at work." 

What do you think of the latest update regarding the SAG-AFTRA actors strike? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!