Studios to Suspend Some First-Look and Overall Deals Amid Writers Strike

Another Marvel blockbuster has hit a roadblock.

Ellise Shafer Marvel’s upcoming “Thunderbolts” film has paused production due to the ongoing writers strike, Variety has confirmed. The movie was scheduled to begin shooting in Atlanta next month, and plans to resume production after the strike is resolved. Part of Marvel’s Phase Five, “Thunderbolts” is set to bring together the worlds of “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Black Widow” and the upcoming “Captain America” installment “New World Order.” “Paper Towns” director Jake Schreier is helming the film, with “Beef” creator Lee Sung Jin penning the script from a first draft by “Black Widow” writer Eric Pearson. The “Thunderbolts” cast includes Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, David Harbout, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Harrison Ford, all reprising their Marvel characters. Newcomers in undisclosed roles include “The Bear” breakout Ayo Edebiri and “Minari” star Steven Yeun. The film is currently scheduled to be released on July 26, 2024.

EXCLUSIVE: Marvel Studios is delaying filming on another upcoming production as Deadline has learned that the studios’ Thunderbolts pic has pushed pause on the upcoming production, which was set to start shooting in three weeks in Atlanta. The crew was notified today and insiders say that the plan is to resume production once the strike has ended.

Camila Cabello wears a brown blazer over a black bodysuit while out and about on Wednesday (May 24) in New York City.

On-location filming in Los Angeles continues to nosedive amid the ongoing Writers Guild strike, plunging 51.5% last week compared with the same time a year ago. The WGA strike is now in its 23rd day with no signs of abating as films and TV shows shutting down production across the county.

Words of wisdom. Marlo Hampton offered some advice for Kim Zolciak-Biermann amid her divorce from Kroy Biermann.

Max has set a summer premiere date for Full Circle, a limited series from director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon, starring Claire Danes, Zazie Beetz, Jharrell Jerome and Timothy Olyphant, among others. The six-episode series will debut with two episodes on Thursday, July 13 on Max, followed by two episodes weekly leading up to the finale on Thursday, July 27. Max also released the first trailer. You can watch it above.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Since the writers strike started on May 2, celebrities have turned out to support WGA members picketing for a better guild contract. Actors like Fred Armisen are also writers who are members of the WGA, while some SAG-AFTRA members are walking the line to support their colleagues. Since most TV shows and movies have suspended production until the strike is resolved, stars, writers and filmmakers like Christopher Nolan are taking to the streets to show their support for members of the Writers Guild of America.

This year’s Peabody Awards ceremony has been canceled “due to the ongoing uncertainty and meaningful challenges that exist industrywide,” according to a statement from the Peabody Awards organization. The June 11 awards would have been the organization’s first in-person ceremony since 2019, as well as the first time ever in its history that the Awards would take place in Los Angeles.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Peabody Awards won’t be throwing a return celebration this year after all. The org has scrapped this years event, which would have been the first in-person Peabody ceremony since 2019 (before the pandemic), in the wake of the writers strike. Originally set to be held on Sunday, June 11, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, this also would have been the first Peabody Awards to be held in Southern California. “As an organization dedicated to honoring the most compelling and empowering stories in broadcasting and streaming media, we recognize and respect the position that many of this year’s Peabody Award winners find themselves in,” the org said in a statement. “Due to the ongoing uncertainty and meaningful challenges that exist industrywide, we have decided to cancel the 83rd annual Peabody Awards ceremony that was set to take place on June 11 in Los Angeles. Canceling the ceremony is extremely disappointing as this year’s 39 winners are immensely talented and have brought forth powerful stories that deserve to be celebrated.”

Ted Sarandos, who was set to receive the PEN America Visionary Award at the literary group’s gala next week in NYC, won’t be attending amid an ongoing strike and vigorous picketing on both coasts by the WGA.

Bethenny Frankel is throwing fire at Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann amid headlines surrounding their divorce and tax scandal.

unable to reach a deal in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Picketing began last week in New York City and Los Angeles.The strike involves a long list of concerns that the writers want Hollywood studios to address, from the low pay involved in writing streaming series to reining in “mini-rooms” used to skirt contractual pay practices to addressing the use of artificial intelligence.Murdoch’s comments come ahead of Fox’s Upfront presentation to advertisers on May 15.“I think the timing of the strike, obviously, with the upfronts next week, creates some hesitancy,” he added.

William Earl On May 2, the Writers Guild of America called for a strike after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers fell through. The first week was robust with picketing in New York City, Los Angeles and Atlanta, with the striking shutting down productions. As the strike enters a second week, Variety is still reporting from the picket lines. *Mother and Kid Day at the Netflix picket drew a huge crowd, seemingly showing that Week 2 crowds would be as robust as Week 1. *Variety spoke with Michele Mulroney, vice president of the WGA West who brought her son Mateo to Mother and Kid Day, about what AMPTP needs to do to resume talks.

tweeted her email notification.“The May 8 screening for ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’ has been postponed,” the email from Bateman’s tweet reads.

Marvel Studios has paused production once again on the upcoming reboot of Blade due to the ongoing writers’ strike.The new delay comes after the film – set to star Mahershala Ali – was paused late last year following the departure of director Bassim Tariq, with filming scheduled to start in Atlanta in November.Production was then pushed back to May, but has now been shelved again due to action by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), according to The Hollywood ReporterThe film’s release date, which was originally scheduled for November 3, 2023, has since been pushed back to September 6, 2024.There’s no word yet on whether the new delay will push back the release date any further.According to The Hollywood Reporter, the initial pause in production last year came to give the studio time to search for a new director and “coagulate other aspects” of the project.Tariq’s exit as director was cited as being “due to continued shifts in our production schedule,” according to Marvel. “Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film,” the statement added.In a separate statement, Tariq said: “It’s been an honour working with the wonderful folks at Marvel.

The MTV Movie & TV Awards will no longer be held live amid the ongoing writers’ strike, instead pivoting to a pre-taped ceremony that will air Sunday. The network announced the news Friday as the writers’ strike, which officially began Tuesday, continues in Los Angeles and New York City, after a breakdown in talks with studios and streaming services.

MTV Movie & TV Awards will no longer be held live amid the ongoing writers' strike, instead pivoting to a pretaped ceremony that will air Sunday. The network announced the news Friday as the writers' strike, which officially began Tuesday, continues in Los Angeles and New York City, after a breakdown in talks with studios and streaming services.“As we carefully navigate how best to deliver the fan first awards’ show we envisioned that our team has worked so hard to create, we’re pivoting away from a live event that still enables us to produce a memorable night full of exclusive sneak peaks, irreverent categories our audience has come to expect, and countless moments that will both surprise and delight as we honor the best of film and TV over the past year," Bruce Gillmer, president of music, music talent, programming and events at Paramount Global, and executive producer of the MTV Movie & TV Awards, said in a new statement.Drew Barrymore, who was set to host the awards, pulled out of the event on Thursday, announcing that she was standing in solidarity with the striking writers.«I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,» Barrymore said in a statement to ET.

Marvel Studios is pushing back production on its upcoming Blade starring Mahershala Ali after pre-production was temporally shut down due to the writers strike sources close to the production confirmed to Deadline. Marvel just hired Nic Pizzolatto to pen the script and given that he was just hired and can’t do any work on it during the strike, the studio thought it best to push production on filming till script was ready

For Tony Award nominees, the next 37 days will be the usual long slog of interviews, parties, nerves and anticipation. But for producers of the ceremony’s June 11 broadcast on CBS, the date carries a new cause for insomnia: Who will write the thing?