The historic SAG-AFTRA strike came to an end last night to the celebration of all. After months of the AMPTP dragging their feet not to lose less than 2% of annual revenue to ensure that human beings can have a living wage, health insurance, and not have their likeness used by A.I., a deal has been reached. This deal was particularly significant because one had not been made in the age of streaming services, which the AMPTP were reaping the benefits of and getting wealthier while not sharing with the people who actually make movies. Keep in mind most actors aren’t millionaires like the superstars we think of. Around 80% of actors can’t afford health insurance or a living wage. This was an important milestone moving forward. When we, as fans, consume media we love, we can have the peace of mind that it’s not made at the expense of other human beings.
Mark Hamill shared his “tentative” excitement for the deal. Retweeting a post from SAG-AFTRA saying the strike was over, Hamill wrote, “AT LAST… they have reached a “tentative” agreement… and I am tentatively thrilled beyond words!!!” It was followed up with the hashtag #SAGAFTRA_STRONG.
What does this mean for Star Wars? The exciting thing is production can begin again. In the coming days and weeks, we should see the shows we love, like Andor, Skeleton Crew, The Acolyte, and the announced upcoming movies back to work. That said, there will be delays. We wrote a thorough article going through each Star Wars series and film and how the strike against the AMPTP impacted them. You can see that article below:
One key thing to watch for next year is the possibility of another strike. In 2024, The Animation Guild’s contract is up, so they could possibly strike as well. This would not impact The Bad Batch‘s Season 3 release, as the show is already completed. What this might hit is Tales of the Jedi. We don’t know how far along the anthology series’ next season is in development. If it’s near completion, there will probably be no delay. If not, it’ll probably be pushed back. Also, when The Bad Batch wraps up, an animation strike will surely delay the release of the next animated series.
This is an exciting and historic day. Thanks to the hard-earned fight with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, Star Wars can move forward again.
Eat it, Bob Iger.