The Hollywood Reporter has shared an update on which upcoming movies have been forced to pause production as a result of the SAG-AFTRA strike and, as expected, work has come to a halt on both Deadpool 3 and Venom 3.
The latter is a Sony Pictures title, of course, but should the strike last for the next several months...well, 2024 won't be anywhere near as exciting as it currently looks.
Studios knew this was coming and we've heard that a handful of summer blockbusters shot interviews at the end of June because they knew premieres and junkets would soon be off the table The trade even notes that some productions made sure to shoot key scenes with actors they realised would be unavailable if a strike happened as soon as production started.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D'Esposito sent an email to staff yesterday, offering some insights into how they feel about the strike.
"We recognize how much you've all done on your specific projects and it’s disappointing when carefully laid plans have to shift, but constant change is the nature of the production business," they said, "and our teams are no stranger to unexpected challenges and rising to meet them."
"We deeply appreciate all your efforts to make the best of the situation, and we can all hope that a new agreement will be finalized soon so we can resume the great work we have in process."
Those are words which have clearly been chosen carefully, though there's already some backlash aimed at the decision to use the word "disappointing." Ultimately, Feige and D'Esposito are studio heads, so they're going to have extremely different outlooks compared to the actors and writers on strike.
Deadpool 3 is currently set to be released in theaters on May 4, 2024, a date which seemed oddly optimistic even before these strikes began. As for Venom 3, that's expected to hit theaters next Fall and may or may not hit that target depending on how much work still needs to be done.
Stay tuned for updates.