A double whammy of Marvel projects has been affected by the Writers Guild of America strike – pre-production has shut down on Blade (via The Hollywood Reporter) and filming has stopped on Daredevil: Born Again (via Deadline).
Marvel's remake of vampire movie Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, was due to start production in Atlanta next month. However, other Marvel projects that are currently filming, like Captain America: New World Order and Agatha: Coven of Chaos, are still going ahead – despite the fact that striking writers will not be at hand on set for rewrites and reshoots. Deadpool 3 and Thunderbolts, an ensemble flick starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Sebastian Stan, is still on track to begin filming in the next month.
Meanwhile, WGA members in New York City set up a picket line on the set of Daredevil: Born Again. "WGA members on strike set up a sunrise picket at Silvercup East, where they’re supposed to be filming Daredevil, but members of the Teamster Local 817 and IATSE Locals 829 and 52 are refusing to cross the picket line," WGA East tweeted yesterday (May 8). According to Deadline, the show wrapped for the day after 1pm with no filming done for the day.
- Daredevil: Born Again showrunner and star Charlie Cox address why they rehauled the Marvel show: "It wasn't in line with what Daredevil had been established to be"
- Daredevil: Born Again showrunner had a "very early" vision for the show, but was forced to pivot after it got in the way of "Marvel's master plan"
The WGA has been on strike since May 2 after negotiations to reach a new deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers fell through. The main reason for the strike is unsatisfactory pay and members also have demands for regulations for the "use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies."
Blade is currently scheduled to hit the big screen on September 6, 2024, while Daredevil: Born Again is expected to arrive on Disney Plus sometime in spring 2024. While we wait, make sure you're up to speed on the MCU with our guides to Marvel Phase 5 and Marvel Phase 6.
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