Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Issues Statement On Actor’s Strike
This past Friday, the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG-AFTRA) announced it would begin striking following a failure to reach an agreement with the studios (AMPTP), which include Disney. The actors join the writers, who went on strike back in May, with both unions wanting protection from AI, better working conditions and also more money from residuals from streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+.
With both the writers and actors on strike, this has impacted Marvel Studios’ production plans for films and Disney+ shows. While filming was able to continue for a while on the Disney+ shows “Wonder Man” and “Daredevil: Born Again”, eventually filming on these was suspended. With only “Deadpool 3” still filming this summer in the UK, but once the strike was official, production was suspended until after the strike is over.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D’Esposito have since emailed staff regarding the strike, which was shared with The Hollywood Reporter regarding the strike and its impact on Marvel.
“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, 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.”
Marvel Studios does have some Disney+ shows already filmed, including “Loki” and “Echo”, which are due to be released later this year, plus we’ve still got two more episodes of “Secret Invasion” to arrive on Disney+ this month. Marvel also wrapped filming on “Ironheart” a while ago and was able to get “Agatha: Coven Of Chaos” filmed before the strikes impacted them. So in terms of Disney+, Marvel fans won’t be without new content for a while. However, depending on how long the strike lasts, it might impact on plans for 2025 and beyond. But Bob Iger recently confirmed that they are planning on slowing down how many releases they have in the future, since he believes producing too many films and shows for Disney+ has caused a loss of focus, plus a slowdown in releases will also help with the bottom line.
“The Marvels” is still set to arrive in cinemas this coming November, and while “Deadpool 3” was due to arrive in cinemas next May, depending on how long the strikes proceed for, this date could be in jeopardy. The good news is that Marvel was able to wrap filming on “Captain America: Brave New World” before the actor’s strike began. Though Marvel usually plans to do reshoots, but it has a better chance of hitting its July 2024 release date. The writer’s strike did already cause filming on “Blade” and “Thunderbolts” to stall this summer, so it’s very likely that these will also get delayed.
The strikes are impacting all studios, as filming on Sony’s next instalment of the Venom franchise is also suspended, though we still have “Kraven The Hunter” and “Madame Webb” to look forward to.
Between Disney looking to reduce the amount of Marvel shows and films to save money, slow down superhero fatigue and allow for better quality control, the strikes have ultimately resulted in a complete shutdown of the live-action side of Marvel. The good news is that work continues on the “Spider-Man: Freshman Year” animated series, plus the second season of “What If?” should also be hitting our screens soon.
Hopefully, the studios and the guilds can get together over the summer and come to an agreement that gives the writers and actors what they need, so everyone can go back to work to create fantastic Marvel films and shows for us to enjoy!
Roger Palmer
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