The years ahead are going to look very different for Disney from what the company had originally planned. In an industry that was only just starting to regain its footing following a destructive global pandemic that forced countless movie and television sets to shut down, and theaters to close doors, a second blow — albeit necessary — is piling on more headaches.
The Writers Guild of America strike, which has been ongoing since May 2, has meant the complete cessation of operations from members of the guild, leading to incomplete scripts and schedule delays. The immediate ripples were felt on productions like Late Night Television which aired daily episodes reliant on expeditious writing.
However, as expected, because the WGA’s needs weren’t met, long-term consequences are now starting to materialize. Predictions were that come Fall, TV would be out of programming, but for film, the situation wasn’t as simple. Some film productions were lucky enough to have finished scripts by the time the strike began, and managed to start filming without much hassle. Still, a lot of the time, scripts have to be edited and even rewritten off the cuff as the production develops and unforeseen circumstances emerge.
Production on Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts and Blade movies was set to start in early June 2023, but by May 25 the company was forced to delay them both due to the WGA strike. This instantly spelled trouble for Marvel — anxieties that were eventually confirmed on June 13 when Disney announced a roll of changes to release schedules across all its IP.
Because of the MCU’s interconnected timeline, movies can’t just go out once they’re finished — they’re dependent on not one, but several other films coming out in preparation. As a result, the pause in Thunderbolts and Blade has meant those movies won’t be ready in time, which in turn means a number of other titles have to come out later on too.
Meanwhile, other films like those from the Avatar series or upcoming new Star Wars installments couldn’t even get off the ground and will have to wait until the strike is over to have finalized scripts. There is no telling when that will be, though. The latest update, reported by Variety, indicated a steadfast union that will not back down until studios agree to negotiate on “[their] full agenda.”
The two previous WGA strikes lasted 100 days in 2007, and 153 days in 1988. There’s a good chance this time it’ll be even longer. The SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) could follow suit, which would make matters all that much worse. The actors union’s current TV/theatrical contracts expire on June 30 and its members have already voted to authorize a strike in case negotiations for new ones also go sour.
Here are the new release dates for upcoming Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar films
- Avatar 3 — delayed from Dec. 20, 2024, to Dec. 19, 2025.
- Avatar 4 — delayed from Dec. 18, 2026, to Dec. 21, 2029.
- Avatar 5 — delayed from Dec. 22, 2028, to Dec. 19, 2031.
- Deadpool 3 — moved up from Nov. 8, 2024, to May 3, 2024.
- Captain America: Brave New World — delayed from May 3, 2024, to July 26, 2024.
- Thunderbolts — delayed from July 26, 2024, to Dec. 20, 2024.
- Blade — delayed from Sep. 6, 2024, to Feb. 14, 2025.
- Fantastic Four — delayed from Feb. 14, 2025, to May 2, 2025.
- Avengers: The Kang Dynasty — delayed from May 2, 2025, to May 1, 2026
- Avengers: Secret Wars — delayed from May 1, 2026, to May 7, 2027.
- Untitled Star Wars project – delayed from Dec. 19, 2025, to May 22, 2026.
- New untitled Star Wars project – Dec. 18, 2026.
- Other new untitled Star Wars project – Dec. 17, 2027.
Published: Jun 16, 2023 10:54 am