With the actor’s strike having ground most film and TV productions to a halt a week ago now, details have emerged about two of the biggest movies in the midst of production when everything was halted.
First up in a feature piece about the strikes in Variety, Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” sequel was more than halfway through a challenging three-month production when it was shut down.
Scott was reportedly in the midst of a complex sequence involving star Paul Mescal and several hundred extras inside a replica of the Roman Colosseum.
Once the shutdown took place, cast members, including former “The Equalizer 2” co-stars Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal, booked flights out of Malta.
Meanwhile, the two-part “Wicked” films were reportedly shut down around ten days out from completion of filming on both movies.
Composer Stephen Schwartz confirmed the details to Variety, calling it: “quite frustrating in a way” but he has “great sympathy and support of the unions that are striking”.
Director Jon M. Chu confirmed it in a social media post too, saying: “We were only a few days away from being done so we were SO close”. Despite it being: “very painful to put a halt to it all,” he added: “we stand with you” in regards to his actors on strike.
Chu also indicates the halt is not expected to affect the film’s release date, with “Wicked Part 1” still scheduled to hit cinemas in November next year.