Lights, camera, silence: Hollywood actors’ strike halts ‘Deadpool 3’ and more

But now that Hollywood actors who are members of the Screen Actors Guild have joined the writers on strike — on July 13 — filming or producing anything has become nearly impossible. As the industry insiders at Variety note, some movies and shows were able to continue running during the writers’ strike without the writers on set. But there is little that can be done without the actors, too. 

This is the first time that two major Hollywood unions have been on strike at the same time since 1960, when Ronald Reagan was the actors’ guild president.

Some early movie casualties include “Deadpool 3” starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman — the first “Deadpool” movie being released by Disney
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after the company acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019 — which has suspended production. And this comes the same week that Reynolds and Jackman shared first-look pictures of the two of them in costume as Deadpool and Wolverine, respectively. 

Part two of Paramount’s “Mission Impossible 8” with Tom Cruise, and Sony’s
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“Venom 3” with Tom Hardy, have also halted production, The Hollywood Reporter said. 

Some reality TV shows and projects outside the U.S., featuring actors who aren’t in the SAG union, will be able to keep going. And some animated projects can continue production, too — well, doing what they can without the voice actors and any script revisions, anyway. Daytime talk shows and game shows will probably be less affected, as well — although, on the daytime talk show front, actors are not allowed.

Read more: Hollywood actors join screenwriters in historic industry-stopping strike as contract talks collapse

So where are movie and TV lovers going to see an immediate impact? 

As noted, production on many TV series (streaming, broadcast and cable alike) and movies will have to grind to a halt. The SAG-AFTRA strike notice bars members from doing all principal on- or off-camera work, including but not limited to: acting, singing, dancing, performance capture, performing stunts, narration, movie trailers, wardrobe fittings, makeup tests and more. 

Casey Bloys, the chairman and CEO of HBO
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and Max content, told Variety that HBO and Max viewers will start to notice the impact of the strike(s) in 2024. The popular “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” was reportedly close to wrapping production on its second season, for example  — although Bloys declined to say how close “Dragon” is to wrapping up this next season. 

“At least through the end of 2023, we’re [HBO’s production slate] OK,” he said. “And then into ‘24 it starts to get dicier.” 

Similarly, depending on how long these strikes drag on, cord-cutters may notice that future seasons of some of their favorite Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime Video
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shows may take longer to return.

What’s more, the actors’ strike won’t just impact TV shows and movies in production. The strike also keeps actors from promoting their projects and making public appearances. According to the SAG-AFTRA strike notice, that includes (but again, is not limited to) personal appearances, interviews and press junkets, conventions and fan expos, festivals and awards shows, panels and podcasts — and they’re not even allowed to post anything promoting their work on their social media accounts, like Meta’s
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Facebook, Instagram or Threads. And Twitter, Snapchat
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and TikTok are also off the table. 

So don’t expect to see Hollywood stars walking red carpets anytime soon, or at splashy movie premieres, period. In fact, the premiere of Christopher Nolan’s film “Oppenheimer” in London was moved up an hour on Thursday so that cast members like Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon could walk the red carpet before the SAG board announced the strike. And the stars left the event once the strike was announced. 

This also means that SAG actors can’t go on any talk shows that might still be in production to promote their projects, so expect to either see more talk-show reruns, or talk shows without any actors as guests for the time being. And the actors on strike also can’t promote their projects in magazine cover stories or interviews — although the interviews that they’ve already done can still run — so this could shake up plans for some publications’ future cover stories. 

The strike will also keep actors and writers from going to fan-favorite events like meet-and-greets and conventions — including San Diego Comic-Con, which is set for July 20 through July 23. This is the biggest annual fan convention in North America, but Disney — including its Marvel Studios (behind all those blockbuster “Avengers” superhero movies) and Lucasfilm (behind the “Star Wars” movies and shows) — isn’t having any panels this year. After all, the writers and actors can’t go. 

What’s more, Variety reports that HBO (which has “True Detective” Season 4 hitting soon, plus “House of the Dragon” Season 2 still in production), Sony Pictures (with “Gran Turismo” and “Kraven the Hunter” due this year) and Universal Pictures (with “Last Voyage of the Demeter,” “Strays” and “The Exorcist” coming out this year) all aren’t going to San Diego Comic-Con. Neither is Netflix. But some studios like Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, or streamers like Amazon, haven’t made their final decisions yet, and may still have some sort of presence. But SDCC attendees shelling out $50 to $75 a day for badges to see their favorite A-listers might be disappointed to find a pretty sparse convention this year if the strikes don’t end in the next week or so. 

Some festivals on the horizon that could also be disrupted by the joint strikes include the Venice and Telluride film festivals in late August and early September, which are usually star-studded affairs. 

And, of course, it remains to be seen how the Primetime Emmy Awards set for Sept. 18 could be affected. The Emmy nominees were just announced this week, with HBO series like “Succession,” “The Last of Us” and “The White Lotus” leading with the most nominations. But the actors’ strike means that campaigning for the Emmys must now stop. And if the writers’ and actors’ strikes are still going on Sept. 18, then the stars will have to sit the show out. So the Emmys could possibly be delayed.