What movies and shows are affected by the actors’ strike?

A series of movies and TV shows were forced to pause production when the Writers Guild went on strike in May – and now, many more will likely have to be put on hold as Hollywood faces its first actors’ strike in 60 years.

The Screen Actors Guild announced on Thursday afternoon that it had officially voted for a work stoppage to begin at midnight after their demands for higher wages and protections against artificial intelligence were not met.

Under the rules of a strike, all SAG-AFTRA members will not be able to film any movie or TV series – which means that almost every show and movie that’s currently in the works will be delayed indefinitely until the problem is resolved.

Hollywood grinding to a halt is certainly bad news for avid TV and movie watchers – who will now likely have to wait months to find out what will happen next in their favorite series and to see much-anticipated films like Ariana Grande’s Wicked, the Beetlejuice sequel, and the third instalment to the Marvel series Deadpool hit theaters. 

Here are all of the shows and movies that were in the midst of filming when the actors went on strike, which will now likely have to shut down production. 

What movies and shows will likely be affected by the SAG strike?

While Marvel had paused many of its movies and shows during the Writers Guild strike, it gave the greenlight on Deadpool 3, which began filming in London earlier this month

When the Writers Guild went on strike in May, pretty much every show and movie that was still in the process of being written got delayed.

At the time, titles that were already in production seemed to be safe – but now, with the addition of the SAG strike, it’s likely that those too will be put on hold.

So what exactly will be affected? It’s not known yet which films and series will pause production, but here’s what’s currently in the midst of filming and is at risk.

The upcoming sequel to the beloved horror film Beetlejuice had just kicked off filming in Vermont this week. 

Actress Fran Drescher, the president of SAG-AFTRA, and SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland announced the union would strike beginning at midnight

The Tim Burton-directed flick is set to come out in September 2024, and will see Michael Keaton return as the ghost with the most and Winona Ryder reprise her role as Lydia Deetz. Jenna Ortega has also joined the cast as Lydia’s daughter.

While Marvel had paused many of its movies and shows during the Writers Guild strike – including Blade and Thunderbolts – it gave the greenlight on Deadpool 3, which began filming in London earlier this month.

The official Deadpool Twitter account even shared a sneak peak of actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman on set on Monday. The movie is slated to premiere on May 3, 2024.

The follow-up to the award-winning movie Gladiator is also currently in the works and will likely be affected by the strike

In addition, the upcoming movie adaptation of the dazzling Broadway musical Wicked, which will star Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, has been filming in the UK for months 

The follow-up to the award-winning movie Gladiator, which is due to come out on November 22, 2024, and has a star-studded cast including Ridley Scott, Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Fred Hechinger, is also currently in the works and will likely be effected by the strike. 

In addition, the upcoming movie adaptation of the dazzling Broadway musical Wicked, which will star Ariana and Cynthia Erivo, has been filming in the UK for months now. It’s release date is set for November 27, 2024.

Other films that are currently in production includes Ghostbusters 4, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Avatar 4. The third Paddington movie, Paddington in Peru, was supposed to begin filming on July 24, but a delay on that seems imminent.

As for TV shows, the 12th season of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series American Horror Story – which will feature Kim Kardashian – and the second part of the Star Wars spinoff series Andor were both in the midst of production.

Some series that hadn’t began production yet but were expected to begin this summer include HBO’s House of the Dragon, season two of the Night Court reboot, NBC’s Chicago Med, Fire and P.D., CBS’ NCIS and Young Sheldon, Fox’s animated series The Simpsons, and Peacock’s miniseries adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s novel Apples Never Fall.

What exactly do the actors want? 

SAG-AFTRA was demanding higher pay to counteract inflation, and guarantees for their future livelihoods. Members of the Guild are seen protesting at The Walt Disney Studios on July 13

SAG-AFTRA was demanding higher pay to counteract inflation, and guarantees for their future livelihoods. 

In addition to salaries when they are actively working, actors earn payments called ‘residuals’ every time a film or show they starred in is aired on network or cable – which is particularly helpful when performers are between projects. 

But streamers like Netflix and Disney+ do not disclose viewing figures for their shows, and offer the same flat rate for everything on their platforms, regardless of its popularity. 

In addition, the union was seeking ‘a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses’ and actors are worried that their digital images could be used without their permission or proper compensation.

What movies and shows were already shut down due to the Writers Guild strike?

The writers strike brought the immediate shutdown of several scripted shows, including Yellowjackets (left), Stranger Things (right), Hacks, Severance, Loot, P-Valley, and Family Guy

Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin (seen) announced on May 8 that the writer’s room on spin-off series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight would be closing

Writers on the award-winning mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary were due to start working on May 2, but it has now has been delayed for the foreseeable future 

Meanwhile, 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since their own talks collapsed and their contract expired on May 2. The stoppage has showed no signs of a solution, with no negotiations even planned.

Marvel shut down pre-production on the vampire thriller Blade, which was due to begin shooting in Atlanta in June, and the writers room on the sixth season of the Netflix action show Cobra Kai (seen) was closed the day the strike began 

That strike brought the immediate shutdown of late-night talk shows and Saturday Night Live, as well as several scripted shows, including Showtime’s Yellowjackets, Stranger Things on Netflix, Hacks on Max, AppleTV+’s Severance and Loot, Starz drama P-Valley, and Family Guy on Fox.

Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin announced on May 8 that the writer’s room on spin-off series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight would be closing. 

Writers on the award-winning mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary were due to start working on May 2, but it has now has been delayed for the foreseeable future. 

Marvel shut down pre-production on the vampire thriller Blade, which was due to begin shooting in Atlanta in June, and the writers room on the sixth season of the Netflix action show Cobra Kai was closed the day the strike began.