The ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike has shuttered the majority of film and television productions across the country as writers and actors continue to picket outside studios for fair wages and better working conditions. Any semblance of resolution continues to remain out of reach, sadly, and the impact continues to ripple throughout the industry. With actors currently unable to promote their own films on red carpets and press junkets, it’s causing more and more theatrical releases to get pushed back until that crucial form of promotion can resume. Per a report from Deadline, in response to the strike, Yorgos Lanthimos‘ upcoming film Poor Things is now confirmed to be releasing in theaters on December 8, three months past its original date.
Poor Things is a unique and incredibly stylish science-fiction comedy film from director Yorgos Lanthimos, who previously helmed the Oscar-winning film The Favourite (2018), as well as other notable star-studded, genre-bending films like The Lobster (2015) and The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017). Poor Things is based on a 1992 novel of the same name written by Scottish author Alasdair Gray. Its charming, funny, and thought-provoking story purposefully and clearly echoes many elements of Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein, and the same can be said for Lanthimos’ visual adaptation. The premise follows Bella, a young Victorian woman who is resurrected by mad scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter after her suicide. In many ways reborn, with the impressionable mind of a young child she sets out to explore the world around her, along the way meeting slick and debauched lawyer Duncan Wedderbaum. Choosing to run off and travel with him, Bella embarks on a personal, surrealistic odyssey of self-discovery in pursuit of liberation from the restrictive norms of the era. Emma Stone, who received an Oscar nod for her role in The Favourite, reunites with Lanthimos once more in this film, starring as Bella Baxter. Alongside her are Willem Dafoe as Godwin Baxter, Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderbaum, and more.
Upon the release of new trailers for the film, the initial release date was slated for September 8, about a month and a half from now, certainly right around the corner. However, with both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA now on the picket lines indefinitely until a proper consensus with AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) is reached, actors are absent from any red carpets or other press-related events, meaning no face-to-face promotion for films. As other movies get pushed back in similar fashion until at least actors are able to come back and represent their work, Lanthimos’ Poor Things is in the same boat, now set three months later for a December 8 release.
Other Films That May Get Pushed Back, or Already Are
Poor Things isn’t the only film hitting the proverbial pause button on its theatrical release. Luca Guadagino’s hyped tennis drama for Prime Video titled Challengers, which stars Zendaya, is getting pushed all the way back to April 26, 2024 from its original September release. Meanwhile, Julio Torres’ film for A24 called Problemista, which was set to debut next month in theaters, is now in limbo with no new release date confirmed. White Bird, the latest film from Lionsgate that stars the like of Gillian Anderson and Helen Mirren, is also getting pushed back from its planned August release to an undetermined date later this year. On top of all that, there are rumors that Warner Bros may delay the releases of big films like Dune: Part Two, Color Purple, and Aquaman 2 until next year.
Poor Things now comes to theaters everywhere this coming Winter on December 8. Check out the latest trailer for the film below.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
