'The Last of Us' Pauses Casting Due to Ongoing Writers Strike, Potentially Delaying Release

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.

The Last Of Us has been revealed as the most bloodthirsty TV series.In new data provided by IMDb and Cinemorgue Wiki (via BonusFinder), the post-apocalyptic drama was named as the most fatal show in the world, with 56.5 per cent of its characters being killed.The HBO series also has the highest mortality rate, with roughly 5.78 characters dying per episode.Created by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann (co-director of The Last Of Us games), the series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) 20 years after modern civilisation has been ravaged by a deadly infection.A synopsis reads: “The series takes place 20 years after modern civilisation has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone.“What starts as a small job soon become a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the US and depend on each other for survival.”According to BonusFinder‘s data, Starz historical drama Spartacus has the second highest death rate for a TV show, with 46.7 per cent of its characters being killed.

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Amon Warmann Guest Contributor Fantasy show composers Gustavo Santaolalla (“The Last of Us”), Bear McCreary (“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”) and Ramin Djawadi (“House of the Dragon”) knew going in that their respective projects had built-in audiences — and that those fandoms should be kept in mind while creating their scores.  “The Last of Us” showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin told Santaolalla that music needed to be “another character” for the HBO series adapted from the video game he previously scored. Rather than create new themes, Santaolalla organically transitioned the music to TV. The South American instrument called “the ronroco,” which he used to write “The Last of Us” theme, was integral in keeping that connectivity for fans who had experienced Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s (Bella Ramsay) journey before. 

told the Hollywood Reporter. “[The daddy thing] seems a little role-related. There was a period where the Mandalorian is very daddy to baby Grogu, and Joel is very daddy to Ellie [in ‘The Last of Us’].”Pascal, 48, has experienced a meteoric rise recently. Although he initially rose to fame in 2014 playing the ill-fated swaggering bisexual prince Oberyn on “Game of Thrones” during the show’s fourth season, his spotlight has increased more recently.

Editors note: Deadline’s It Starts On The Page features 10 standout drama series scripts in 2023 Emmy contention. It showcases the critical role writer’s work plays in a show’s success. All materials (the script and writers intro) were submitted before the WGA strike began on May 2.

Daytime Emmy Awards have been postponed.The 50th annual awards ceremony, which was set to air on CBS, will not take place as originally scheduled on Friday, June 16 due to the ongoing writers' strike, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences said in a statement Tuesday. Additionally, the Creative Arts & Lifestyle awards ceremony, which was to take place the following day on Saturday, June 17, has also been postponed.«The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy® Awards planned for Friday, June 16 on CBS is postponed due to the WGA strike,» read NATAS' statement to ET.

EXCLUSIVE: Dark star Louis Hofmann, one of Germany’s most in-demand young actors, is joining Bella Ramsey (The Last Of Us), Dominic West (The Crown), Ruth Negga (Loving), Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter) in period drama Monstrous Beauty, which HanWay is selling at the Cannes market ahead of a planned September shoot.

The writers strike may bring about a disturbance in the force. The current work stoppage already has disrupted the production of several TV series; Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian may join the last.

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.”

The Tony Awards is the latest casualty of the ongoing Hollywood writers strike.

HBO‘s The Last Of Us adaptation have reportedly been put on hold due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike.Per a new Variety report, sources close to the production of The Last Of Us have confirmed that the show had begun preparations for its casting process, but have been halted earlier this week.Other sources told the outlet that actors auditioning for season two were told to read lines directly from The Last Of Us Part II, the 2020 PlayStation game that season two of the HBO series will be based on. Variety also reports that though strikes are ongoing, with no end in sight at the moment, the production hopes to begin filming in Vancouver early next year.Craig Mazin – who co-wrote, co-directed and was showrunner on the HBO adaptation – has reportedly been spotted at ongoing strikes and is not currently involved in any writing, producing or casting work for season two due to the strike.Naughty Dog‘s Neil Druckmann, who created the gaming franchise and co-created, co-wrote and co-directed on the HBO show, is also reportedly not working on season two at this time.HBO’s adaptation of The Last Of Us premiered earlier this year and received rave reviews, with NME scoring it four out of five stars.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Last of Us” Season 2 is feeling the effects of the writers’ strike. Casting for the second season of the smash hit HBO series had been underway until earlier this week when it was put on hold, according to an individual with knowledge of the production. Prior to that, however, multiple sources say that the casting team was asking actors to read sides taken directly from “The Last of Us Part II,” the video game on which the second season will be based, due to the fact that there are no scripts for Season 2 at this time. The hope is for the season to begin shooting in early 2024 in Vancouver.

Pedro Pascal won multiple awards at the 2023 MTV Movie + TV Awards and his celeb friends are so happy for him!

2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards kicked off Sunday night and celebrated the very best of entertainment, in a revamped, reimagined pre-taped version of the show, due to the ongoing WGA strike.Going into Sunday's show, top nominees on the scripted side this year included and all with six nods, and and with four each. Meanwhile, on the unscripted side,, and each nabbed two nominations apiece.The show also saw a lot of famous faces as first-time nominees, including Austin Butler, Bad Bunny, Bella Ramsey, Cara Delevingne, Courteney Cox, Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Jennifer Coolidge, Quinta Brunson and Riley Keough, to name a few.So who walked away with the fancy new hardware? Check out the full list of winners — marked in — below! Austin Butler —  Florence Pugh —  Keke Palmer —  Michael B.

Charna Flam “Stranger Things” has halted work on its final season, as series co-creators and co-showrunners Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, known as the Duffer brothers, shared a statement announcing that staring production “is not possible” during the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. The Duffers issued a statement from the Stranger Writers Twitter account, which has offered “Stranger Things” fans a glimpse into the series’ writers room over the years. Writing on the fifth and final season commenced in August 2022, shortly after the fourth season premiered. “Duffers here. Writing does not stop when filming begins. While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike,” the Duffers wrote. “We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then — over and out. #wgastrong”

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.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer Marvel Studios’ “Blade” is going back into hibernation. Due to the ongoing writers strike, Marvel has shut down pre-production on the vampire reboot, which is set to star Mahershala Ali as the titular vampire hunter alongside Aaron Pierre, Delroy Lindo and Mia Goth. Production was expected to start in Atlanta within the month for an anticipated Sept. 6, 2024 release. This isn’t the first time Disney has had to delay production on the film. Last October, Disney pushed “Blade” from a 2023 release to 2024 after the original director, Bassam Tariq (“Mogul Mowgli”), left the project two months before filming was set to begin. In November, Yann Demange (“Lovecraft Country”) took over directing duties from a script by Michael Starrbury (“When They See Us”). In April, just weeks before the WGA contract deadline, Nic Pizzolatto (“True Detective”) joined the production, re-writing from Starrbury’s screenplay. He ran out of time to complete his work before the strike began.