So, When Are All the Strike-Delayed Movies and TV Shows Coming Out?

Courtesy of Niko Tavernise for Warner Bros

When Hollywood’s most symmetrically-faced workforce reached a deal to end its 2023 strike, they not only secured better deals for actors in the streaming ecosystem, but kicked off a mad dash for major movies to resume production. The effects of the twin WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes weren’t necessarily felt in the moment, since many already-completed films and shows continued to be released, but work on upcoming projects stalled, leading to suspended productions and delayed release dates.

Most of the prominent films and shows affected by the strike are either superhero IP, acclaimed TV shows, or long-awaited sequels. These projects naturally have longer lead times, with release dates regularly set more than a year in advance. According to Deadline, movies ramping up production post-strike resolution include Gladiator 2 and Beetlejuice 2 (which, cruelly, was less than two days away from completion when things shut down), and sequels to Deadpool and Venom. New seasons of The White Lotus and Abbott Elementary are also underway.

Film and TV production can be incredibly fluid, but with the strikes resolved, let’s be optimistic and take the studios at their word. Below, GQ’s assembled the projected production and release dates (when available) for some of 2024’s most exciting releases.

Deadpool 3: The much-hyped third entry in Ryan Reynolds’ wisecracking superhero series was originally slated for release in May 2024, but had to suspend shooting due to the actor’s strike. With an agreement reached, Variety reported that production started again before Thanksgiving. Deadline confirmed a new release date of July 26, meaning the return of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine will hit smack dab in the middle of summer blockbuster season. On November 20, Jackson intimated that shooting was imminent, posting a selfie on Instagram with the signature Wolverine facial hair (albeit more salt-and-peppery than we’ve seen in the past). “Sporting the chops can only mean one thing,” he wrote.

Beetlejuice 2: Fans of Tim Burton’s beloved 1988 supernatural comedy had to appreciate the humor here: After waiting more than three decades for a sequel, production was paused with two days of shooting left. (Burton told The Independent in September, “It is 99 percent done.”) Deadline reported that a return to production was imminent following the strike’s resolution, and it’s possible the film will still make its scheduled September 6 release date. The highly anticipated film returns Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Michael Keaton from the original, while adding preeminent Gen Z scream queen Jenna Ortega to the Deetz family.

Gladiator 2: Ridley Scott’s prolific late-career era continues with production resuming on Gladiator 2, per Deadline. The news comes at a welcome moment, since reception to Scott’s gargantuan Napoleon Bonaparte biopic has been decidedly mixed. The cast for Gladiator 2 is historically stacked, including Hollywood legends like Denzel Washington and Connie Nielsen, as well as modern zeitgeist dominators in Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal. Even with Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan leaving the film, it remains one of 2024’s most anticipated, and will hopefully still hit its planned release date of November 22, 2024.

Venom 3: The third installment in Tom Hardy’s deeply bizarre antihero saga has been pushed to November 8, 2024, per Deadline, a date Sony apparently was holding open for a Marvel film following the delay from its original July 14 date. On November 17, Tom Hardy shared a set selfie on Instagram captioned “V3NM3” and featuring an exasperated-looking director Kelly Marcel. Keen-eyed viewers noted Hardy is in the same outfit he wore when set photos came out back in June, meaning that they’ve picked up right where they left off. Not much is known about the plot of the third Venom film, but new cast additions Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor are certainly exciting.

Dune: Part Two: The sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the Frank Herbert sci-fi classic was already finished before the strike, but in August it was pushed from a November 2023 release back to mid-March 2024. Now, per Deadline, the release has been moved up by two weeks, meaning it’ll be out on March 1. The other major film due out that date, Ryan Gosling’s The Fall Guy, has been pushed back to May, meaning the first weekend after the January-March blockbuster deadzone belongs to Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, and Zendaya.

Challengers: Speaking of Zendaya, her love triangle tennis drama Challengers was pushed from a September 15 release this year back to April 26, 2024. The film, which intriguingly teams Zendaya with director Luca Guadagnino seems to be holding to that April date, landing during the Madrid Open and about a month before the French Open.

Juror No. 2: The latest entry in Clint Eastwood’s 50-plus-year directorial filmography stars Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette, with a supporting cast including Zoey Deutch, Kiefer Sutherland, and the newly-added Chris Messina. Originally, production was set to begin over the summer, and it appears a fair amount of the film was shot, since Deadline reported that it only has roughly 12 days of filming left.

The White Lotus, Season 3: HBO’s Casey Bloys revealed earlier in November that the third season of The White Lotus won’t be released until 2025. Deadline reported that casting began virtually the moment the actor’s strike ended, with key new roles including “a patriarch, a corporate executive, an actress, a couple of mothers, a misfit and a yogi.” Showrunner Mike White intends to begin filming “at the beginning of the year,” per Entertainment Weekly, and this next installment will be set in Thailand. Sadly, a return for Jennifer Coolidge doesn’t seem in the cards, but White has earned the benefit of the doubt with his pitch perfect casting.

Abbott Elementary, Season 3: According to The Hollywood Reporter, the third season of Quinta Brunson’s beloved public school comedy is set to begin production in the final week of November. Brunson told Deadline that the strike meant that this new season will have “fewer episodes” than the prior two, and that the season will still take place during the school year, albeit not starting when classes begin in September. Abbott Elementary staff members like Brunson, as well as writer Brittani Nichols and actor Tyler James Williams were huge advocates for writers and performers going on strike. Per Variety, the third season will begin on February 7 with an hourlong premiere.

Originally Appeared on GQ