With the Strike Over, *NSYNC, Zendaya and More Musicians Are Free to Promote Their Upcoming TV/Film Projects

Gil Kaufman
·6 min read
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Hollywood’s biggest studios and the SAG-AFTRA union struck a tentative deal on Wednesday (Nov. 8), ending the historic 118-day strike by actors. Now, performers can get back to doing the second most important part of their jobs: promoting their projects.

After writers ended their walk-out last month, production on TV and film projects is expected to ramp back up once the actors’ deal is ratified by membership, meaning that on-hold projects could go into production within the next few months. Plus, musicians who act in TV and film can finally get back out there and plug, plug, plug those on-screen efforts.

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That means you might see more of the reunited *NSYNC. Earlier this week, member Lance Bass lamented in an interview that what was intended to be a more robust reunion between himself, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone was reduced to a mild walk-on at this year’s MTV VMAs, with their plans to fully promote their first single in more than 20 years being scuttled by the strikes.

Instead, there was no music video, no live performance and no other appearances to hype the Trolls Band Together single “Better Place.” Bass lamented that the then-ongoing strike really “threw a wrench” in the quintet’s broader plans due to strike rules that prohibited union members from promoting new projects during the walk-out. “We finally released a song after 23 years and we can’t even mention the song and we can’t talk about the movie it’s in. It was going to be such a special moment for all of us, and unfortunately that got sidetracked,” Bass said.

Now, however, it seems like Trolls star Timberlake — who also could not make the rounds to promote his recent Netflix thriller Reptile — could potentially lean-in to a fuller *NSYNC celebration. Bass hinted as much in his interview, saying, “We had so much fun, I don’t see this as our last thing. Because of this strike, I feel like we owe it to the fans again to rectify this and do something else. But until the strike ends, we can’t really even figure out what is next, if there’s anything next. Hopefully we’ll have a plan in place once this lifts and we’re able to get back to work.”

During the strike, musicians who act were not allowed to talk up their current or upcoming projects, which explains why there were so many late-night shows spotlighting comedians, politicians and non-performers over the past month. But now you can expect to see those double-threat singers make their way back to the couch to talk up projects due out in the next few months.

Here are some other music-related movies and TV shows starring and created by musicians that might get some personal attention now that the strike has ended. (All release dates subject to change.)

Sara Bareilles: The singer stars in the big screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Waitress, based on the 2007 movie of the same name, due out on Dec. 7.

Beyoncé: Though Queen Bey doesn’t typically do press around her projects, it’s possible she could make appearances to promote her upcoming concert film RENAISSANCE: A Film By Beyoncé, which will hit screens worldwide on Dec. 1.

Timothée Chalamet: The latest film based on Roald Dahl’s madcap candy-maker is a musical top-lined by the Dune star, who will make his big screen singing debut in the Paul King-directed film co-starring Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant, due out on Dec. 15.

Ariana Grande: The singer, who has kept a lower profile since 2020’s Positions, can now hit the promo rounds to talk about her role as Glinda in the upcoming two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked; the first part was pushed back to Nov. 27, 2024 due to the strike.

H.E.R.: The musical polymath will star alongside Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks and fellow singers Halle Bailey, Jon Batiste and Fantasia in the musical re-imagining of the Alice Walker novel The Color Purple, co-produced by Oprah, Steven Spielberg and Quincy Jones. It’s due Dec. 25.

Lady Gaga: Gaga told her Monsters in June that she’s working on a movie based on her 2022 Chromatica Ball tour, though no release date has been announced yet. Also, just days after his passing, a documentary chronicling Tony Bennett’s friendship and musical kinship with Gaga, The Lady and the Legend, was announced; at press time a release date on Paramount+ has not yet been revealed. Gaga could also make the rounds next summer to promote next October’s Joker sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, in which she plays Harley Quinn.

Megan Thee Stallion: In addition to plugging her “Cobra” single, Meg could finally get out there and promote her roles in Dicks: The Musical and the seventh season of Netflix’s filthy animated series Big Mouth (which were both released last month) — and, perhaps, her rumored role in the untitled, upcoming Safdie brothers movie starring Adam Sandler.

Julia Michaels: The singer and Grammy-nominated songwriter re-teamed with frequent collaborator JP Saxe to write the songs for the animated Disney musical Wish (out Nov. 22), which stars Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk and Natasha Rothwell.

Reneé Rapp: The singer and The Sex Lives of College Girls star will co-star as Regina George alongside singer/actress Ashley Park (Gretchen Wieners) in Tina Fey’s big screen reimagining of the Mean Girls musical based on the beloved original movie, due out on Jan. 12.

Troye Sivan: Atfter getting blanked in the promo rounds for The Weeknd’s poorly received HBO series The Idol, the “Rush” singer could now get out there to talk about his role in Trolls Band Together as Floyd.

The Weeknd: Speaking of The Idol, according to IMDb, the singer who now goes by his birth name, Abel Tesfaye, will make his feature film acting debut in an untitled project directed by Trey Edward Shults in which he will appear alongside Jenny Ortega, Barry Keoghan and Charli D’Amelio. The movie was co-written by Shults, Tesfaye and his producing partner, Reza Fahim.

Zendaya: The Euphoria star is expected to take a bigger role in Dune: Part Two, which was pushed from this month to March 15, 2024, so expect her to begin making the rounds to promote that one in the next few months.

Rachel Zegler: For the follow-up to her Golden Globe-winning role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story adaptation and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Zegler will portray a scrappy singer-songwriter in the music-heavy Hunger Games prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, due out Nov. 17.

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