The SAG-AFTRA strike is not just halting film productions. It could also postpone the release of finished films starring A-list actors like Zendaya. In addition to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike that started in May, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strike that started at midnight on July 14 shocked the industry. While it is true that current and forthcoming projects are perpetually put on hold,. Studios already have a number of films in the can. Now it appears that those films, including Challengers starring Zendaya, may also be postponed.
Challengers Release Date
As stated in Matt Belloni’s Puck email, director Luca Guadagnino is interested in accelerating Challengers’ release because Zendaya is unable to promote the movie due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. The adult sports dramedy, in which Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist also appear, is scheduled to premiere on August 30. At the 80th Venice Film Festival before making its Amazon Prime debut on September 15.
Zendaya’s $10 million salary for the picture, according to Belloni, is in part because of her red-carpet appearance and internet fame. Which has helped the movie, for which she also serves as producer, gain greater notice. Guadagnino reportedly proposed delaying the release of Challengers since Zendaya’s strike prevented her from promoting it. Amazon chose not to respond.
The actress received a massive $1 million per episode salary earlier this year for Season 3 of HBO’s Euphoria. It was a significant increase over her co-star Sydney Sweeney’s $350,000 per episode contract. Although her prior compensation is unknown, the renegotiation was probably motivated by her Emmy victories and her well-established public reputation.
Prior to signing on with Euphoria, Matt Belloni claimed Zendaya received $10 million in extra payments for playing MJ in the Spider-Man trilogy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Will studios postpone other Zendaya films?
It seems sensible that Challengers’ director Luca Guadagnino would like to hasten its release. It’s quite improbable that the movie would play up to expectations without Zendaya’s ability to market it given that the movie was mostly created around her.
Additionally, a lot of filmmakers support their actors and the strike. They might prefer to draw attention to the cause rather than specific films. In his support of the SAG-AFTRA strike, director Kenneth Branagh called it “an existential moment in our industry” and said, “I think it’s the way to go.”
Additionally, Christopher Nolan, who directed Oppenheimer, expressed his support and said that he “absolutely” would not be working on any other films while the strike is in effect. Although Amazon has not yet made any comments regarding a potential delay in the release of Zendaya’s Challengers. It makes sense to concur with Guadagnino from a commercial and image standpoint.
However, what makes Zendaya’s next picture genuinely newsworthy is that it demonstrates how wrapped films are. Particularly those with the highest budgets and most prominent stars may also be impacted by the strike. Studios will have to decide whether to release a pricey movie without the participation of its stars in addition to having to stop production and alter future film releases.
It will be interesting to see what Amazon decides to do with Zendaya’s Challengers in the upcoming weeks. The way that studios handle even bigger films coming out later this year, such as Dune: Part II. In which Zendaya also stars in 2023, will be much more interesting.
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