Marvel halts production on 'Thunderbolts' movie due to writers’ strike

Los Angeles, May 26

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Marvel Studios has put production of “Thunderbolts” feature film on hold due to the ongoing Writers Guild Association (WGA) strike.

Members of the WGA went on strike early this month demanding better wages, higher minimum pay, more writers per show, better streaming residuals, regulation on the use of AI writing tools and shorter exclusive contracts among other things.

According to entertainment news outlet Deadline, “Thunderbolts” was set to start shooting in three weeks in Atlanta.

The move comes weeks after the studio had to pause pre-production on its Mahershala Ali-led “Blade” movie, which was expected to shoot in June as well.

“Paper Towns” Helmer Jake Schreier is directing “Thunderbolts”, with “Beef” scribe Lee Sung Jin working on the script from a first draft by writer Eric Pearson.

The film stars Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, all reprising their Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) characters. “Thunderbolts” is currently scheduled to release on July 26, 2024.

While the fifth season of Stranger Things is also affected by the strike, The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon have both chosen to continue shooting their upcoming seasons without writers on set.