Top 5 films halted due to Hollywood writers' strike

The ongoing Hollywood strike is affecting the entertainment industry left and right. With a full stop to all sorts of productions, Hollywood's future is suffering, to say the least.

The writers' strike began on May 2, 2023, when the Writers Guild of America (WGA) —representing 11,500 screenwriters —went on strike over an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

The strike is the most significant halt to American film and television production since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as well as the largest labor stoppage that the WGA has performed since the strike of 1988 which lasted for 153 days.

Since July 14, 2023, the strike has coincided with a SAG-AFTRA strike as part of a series of broader Hollywood labor disputes.

Amidst hundreds of halted projects, following are five of the biggest upcoming films suffering a dark fate:

Avatar 3

After the record-shattering success of Avatar: The Way Of Water, the new Avatar film will pick up in 2025 instead of 2024 due to the strike. With the film delayed by a year, the future Avatar sequels have been pushed back as a result.

Gladiator 2

The iconic Gladiator sequel directed by Ridley Scott and starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington was scheduled to premiere in November of next year, however, after the actor’s strike, the movie stopped production about halfway through. It is unclear if it will make its 2024 release date now.

Beyond The Spider-verse

While the film was set to grace big screens in March 2024, the film was removed from the release schedule in July 2023. This was reportedly due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, after a source within Sony told Variety that the strike prevented the film's voice cast from recording their lines on schedule.

Mortal Kombat 2

Picking up from where the 2021 film left the audience, the martial arts fantasy sequel was briefly filmed in Australia before pausing production due to the actor’s strike.

Blade

Mahershala Ali was all set to be a part of MCU’s Blade, taking the place of Wesley Snipes when the writer’s strike upended production. There’s no word yet on when the long-gestating movie will finally see the light of day.

The current strike jeopardizes long-term contracts created during the media streaming boom when producers were shelling out large sums to creative talent.