Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy says Actors Strike has put the film's 2024 release 'in true risk'

The SAG-AFTRA or the actors strike is nearing its 100th day of commencement and it is safe to say that it is governing a lot of the activity in Hollywood and beyond. Film shoots have come to a stall, including the major ones, but the industry, at large, continues to express solidarity with the actors' union which currently represents close to 160,000 media professionals across the world. 

The radical change that the strike is slowly causing, though, cannot be undermined at this point. A recent New York Times story reveals that the lesser-privileged actors have already begun returning to old and familiar jobs like waiting at restaurants, which only goes to show just how intense and serious the environment is. And with studios, who can loosely be termed as the 'opposing party' in this drama, not showing any signs of budging, the solution right now for filmmakers in the system is to wait it out in hopes of a fair agreement being reached at the earliest. 

But for some of the bigger productions, the wait is gradually turning out to be quite costly. Ask filmmaker and producer Shawn Levy and he might give you a sombre reply with regards to his ongoing project, Deadpool 3. 

It is needless to say Deadpool 3, starring Ryan Reynolds in the titular role and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, is one of the most-anticipated releases of 2024 and the makers already have set date of May 3, 2024 to meet fans worldwide at theatres. However, with the strikes still in full swing, Levy is being forced to reconsider the plans and even accept the reality that they might not meet the deadline after all.

"I wish I knew. I don’t even know if we officially have [a release date]. I know we were gonna be May 3," said Shawn Levy in his recent chat with The Wrap. He would go on to refer to the SAG-AFTRA strike in saying that the long pause in production has derailed things quite considerably and the intended release of Deadpool 3 is at "true risk" at this point.

"We’ve shot half the movie. I’ve edited half the movie. We’re dying to get back to work and get this movie out next year," he adds. 

Shawn Levy is also one of the producers of Deadpool 3 along with Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Fiege. The cast of the film also includes Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, and Jennifer Garner.