Here’s What’s Happening With Your Most Anticipated Shows And Films Now The Actors’ Strike Is Over

In the immortal words of one particularly profound Twitter/X user: “Girl, the strike.”

They were, of course, referring to the industrial action undertaken by both the writers and actors of Hollywood earlier this year, after the unions WGA and Sag-Aftra made a string of demands to protect their members and improve their working conditions.

The Writers’ Strike ended at the tail end of September this year, while the Actors’ Strike only came to a close this week.

Still, despite being just a day out of the strike, several major projects are already putting the wheels in motion to get back to work.

Here’s where things currently stand for some of the most anticipated shows and films that were put on pause due to the strikes…

Deadpool 3

Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2
Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2

Twentieth Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

According to Deadline, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s threequel featuring the R-rated mercenary will be back to work “this week or in the very near future”.

Shawn Levy (Deadpool 3’s director) has previously confirmed that the flick was about 50% complete before production came to a halt – and tweeted “Let’s effing GOOOOO” after the strike’s conclusion.

The Boys

Chace Crawford in The Boys
Chace Crawford in The Boys

Jan Thijs/Amazon/Sony/Kobal/Shutterstock

Following its very well-received spin-off Gen V, Prime Video’s raucous superhero romp The Boys is also confirmed to be back in production.

Creator and producer Eric Kripke wrote on X: “Here’s the update. Editing: done. VFX: halfway done. Music & sound: quarter done.

“Now that the SAG strike is over (yay), the actors can record additional dialogue. No airdate yet, but will be worth the wait. It could be our best season. For sure our craziest.”

Stranger Things

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in Stranger Things
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in Stranger Things

According to cast member David Harbour, the cast of Netflix’s sci-fi smash is ready and rarirng to get back to work – and would be doing so in “a couple of days”.

“I mean, we got to film that last season of ‘Stranger Things,’ don’t we? I got to be down there, like, in a couple of days. We got to get going — we’re late.”

The writers of the show previously teased the first scene of season five on what’s become known as “Stranger Things Day” once the writers’ strike came to an end.

Gladiator 2

Russell Crowe in the first Gladiator film
Russell Crowe in the first Gladiator film

Dreamworks/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Deadline has also reported that the Gladiator sequel, starring Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, is also back in production.

Ridley Scott, who directed the original film and its forthcoming follow-up, previously revealed that he’d edited around an hour and a half of footage, including a scene where Paul Mescal’s character fights off *checks notes* a pack of baboons.

The media outlet also claimed that these projects will soon be back in production too: Clint Eastwood’s Juror No. 2, Sony’s Venom 3 and the Tim Burton directed Beetlejuice 2, which reportedly only has two days of filming left.

Mission: Impossible

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 3
Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 3

Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

With a eighth instalment of the franchise coming soon, director (and writer… and producer) Christopher McQuarrie previously confirmed that prior to the strike’s commencement, the film had completed shooting – that is, apart from “the biggest set piece, the central set piece”.

Wicked

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Wicked
Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Wicked

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star front and centre as good and bad witch Glinda and Elphaba in Jon Chu’s movie adaptation of the hit musical, which is being split into two parts.

Although he’s not said anything specific about production resuming, he posted an Instagram story which said he was “excited to get back to work” after the strike’s resolution.

The White Lotus

One of The White Lotus season two's most iconic scenes
One of The White Lotus season two’s most iconic scenes

Fabio Lovino

Also not currently filming, but set to get going in early 2024, is Mike White’s satirical black comedy.

He previously confirmed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the season will take place in Thailand and feature the return of a fan favourite character from season one…

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Actors Are Auctioning Off Completely Bonkers Services To Raise Money During Strikes

If you’ve ever yearned for a watercolor portrait of your dog painted by John Lithgow, there’s no need to beg — you can have it.

That is, if you’re willing to shell out thousands of dollars for a good cause.

Celebrities are offering up their time, precious memorabilia, and, uh, lesser-known talents, to raise money as part of the Union Solidarity Coalition, a charity that was set up this year to financially support Hollywood crew members who are out of work due to the writers strike, Variety reported.

TV and film writers, and more recently, actors, are on strike over pay and working conditions. The Union Solidarity Coalition explains on its website that it’s raising funds for unionized crew members because the ongoing strikes are putting many workers in the entertainment industry at risk of not qualifying for health insurance next quarter.

So, to make sure out-of-work crew members can get the medical care they need, the coalition got famous folks to offer up some goods and services on eBay. The online auction opened for bids on Tuesday evening and runs through Sept. 22.

Some of the offerings are pretty tame — like a Hawaiian shirt signed by Weird Al Yankovic and Daniel Radcliffe, or an apron signed by the cast of “The Bear.”

As you can imagine, when the news hit X, formerly Twitter, people had some very funny things to say about these auctions.

Inevitably, the more outrageous celebrity offerings also sparked a meme, with social media users imagining what they’d like their favorite celebrity to auction off.

Best part? Unlike participating in the auction itself, reading people’s hilarious auction ideas is totally free. Check them out below!

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Hannah Waddingham ‘Respectfully Steps Down’ As Host Of BBC Proms Event

Hannah Waddingham has told fans she pulled out of hosting a BBC Proms event this week out of solidarity with the ongoing actors’ strike.

On Friday, the BBC announced that the Ted Lasso star would be fronting the Fantasy, Myths and Legends Prom at the Royal Albert Hall, which was recorded on Monday evening.

However, shortly before the event was due to get underway, Hannah revealed she would no longer be taking part, as a show of “support” with her colleagues in the entertainment industry who are currently on strike.

“Hey guys, I very sadly won’t be able to host tonight’s [BBC Proms] Fantasy, Myths and Legends,” she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“It will be a magical night, but due to my ongoing support for the [SAG-AFTRA] strike I must respectfully step down. I look forward to being back at [the Royal Albert Hall]!”

Members of the Screen Actors’ Guild have been on strike for over a month now, with the union taking action shortly after it was announced that the Writers’ Guild of America was also on strike.

This marks the first time in over 60 years that both unions have been on strike at the same time.

Among the key concerns behind the ongoing actors’ strike include streaming residuals, minimum pay and the “use and potential abuse” of artificial intelligence within the film and TV industries, per the Los Angeles Times.

Due to the strikes, a number of major films and TV shows have now shut down production, with some studios now pushing back release dates for key projects that have already completed filming while its cast are striking.

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