As the SAG-AFTRA strike begins its second week, there’s no indication that negotiations will resume between that guild or the WGA with AMPTP any time soon. And that’s bad news for studios, as actors on strike will begin not only to affect the production of new work, but the premieres of upcoming schedule films. May a studio pull off a successful premiere of a tentpole movie without its cast present?
According to Variety, Warner Bros. doesn’t appear to think so, as the studio mulls pushing “Dune: Part Two” and other major films on its Fall release schedule to dates in 2024. But in the case of Denis Villeneuve‘s much-anticipated sequel, there’s a few snags to that plan, namely the blockbuster being a co-production between Warners and Legendary Entertainment. Both studios must agree to a new release date before a schedule shift happens. “Dune: Part Two,” starring the likes of Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh, and many other A-listers, currently has a November 3 release date. But will that be the case by summer’s end?
Maybe, maybe not. Sources familiar with the situation have conflicting reports over Warners’ plans to move some of their films around. That comes with little surprise, given the unpredictability of union strikes. And both Warner Bros. and Legendary declined to comment on the “Dune: Part Two” situation, if indeed there even is one at all. But that film is one of many on the Warner Bros. Fall 2023 schedule the studio may postpone. “The Color Purple” and “Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom” could also get pushed back to 2024 release dates if both guild strikes continue past the summer months. That would be yet another schedule change for James Wan‘s follow-up to his wildly successful “Aquaman” from 2018, the DCEU‘s box-office big fish (pun firmly intended).
So what’s the reason for these potential delays on the part of Warner Bros.? Well, releases for blockbusters like “Dune: Part Two” benefit from having their gigantic casts available to promote the film on the red carpet, press tours, late-night interviews, etc. But under SAG-AFTRA’s union restrictions, none of the A-listers affiliated with the guild in Villeneuve’s film, or the other two mentioned, can promote their involvement in past or upcoming productions. Promotion is a big part of a film’s success with the public, and if actors aren’t available to do it, box office numbers may be severely compromised. So, as with all things Hollywood, it all comes back to money.
Warner Bros. has no official comment about altering their Fall release schedule, so it may not happen at all. But the fact that the studio is allegedly thinking about it indicates that its higher-ups are not confident either the WGA or SAG-AFTRA strikes will be over by autumn. And if that’s the case, “Dune: Part Two” may see a later release date than November 3. “The Color Purple” and Wan’s “Aquaman” sequel currently hit theaters on December 20 and 25, respectively, so they’re not as susceptible to postponement if the strikes continue. But there’s award campaigns to think about (more for “The Color Purple” than Wan’s film), and both major awards shows next year will get affected by the strikes, too.
So the most sensible ruling here may be that the longer these guild strikes go on for, the more likely Warner Bros. and other studios begin to postpone their major theatrical releases. That goes for other blockbusters heading to theater screens this Fall, like Disney‘s “The Marvels,” Lionsgate‘s franchise reboot of “The Hunger Games,” and Ridley Scott‘s historical epic “Napoleon” for Apple Studios. If both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes drag on, there could be a domino effect that sees studios pull more and more films from their release schedules to later dates. And that will bring another negative dynamic to what’s already a tumultuous time in Hollywood.
