Hollywood actors' union strike pauses filming of Gladiator movie, Film Commissioner confirms

A strike within Hollywood's actors' union has forced filming for the Gladiator movie to be paused.

“We are following developments and we remain especially supportive to our local crew affected by this strike,” Film Commissioner Johann Grech told MaltaToday upon confirming the news.

The SAG-AFTRA strike was announced on Thursday, targeting movie and television studios due to failed negotiations concerning wages and working conditions.

Sources close to the production have indicated that the producers of the blockbuster are working to ensure the safe return of international crew and cast members to their respective countries.

The producers express their anticipation for resuming production in the near future and express gratitude to all those involved for their work over the past 26 days.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) told its members to walk out of their respective productions at 9am on Friday.

“We are in full solidarity with all those affected...  As Film Commissioner, I will be engaging with all stakeholders throughout this process,” Grech told MaltaToday.

This strike action by the industry’s biggest union was called without an agreement being reached with major studios including Netflix and Disney.

The strike will affect all members of the actors’ union.

In Malta, several productions are being produced, with the strike only affecting the Gladiator sequel, and therefore a-listers Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal.

Filming for Sir Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel started in June.

Industry sources revealed with MaltaToday in April, that the sets for the Roman-era epic film were being created at Fort Ricasoli.

Gladiator 2 is expected to star Paul Mescal as the protagonist while Hollywood star Denzel Washington to feature as Mescal’s rival.

Sources had told thgis newspaper that the film will be shot mostly in Malta with some studio work in the UK.

This is Scott’s fourth film in Malta, having shot White Squall in 1996, the first Gladiator movie in 1999, and Napoleon last year.