‘The Acolyte’ and Current ‘Star Wars’ Productions in the United Kingdom Apparently Unaffected by WGA Strike
While some productions – like Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – are facing difficulties tied to an absence of writers or producers on the set as they wrap up filming, Disney appears to be having much better luck with The Acolyte, which appears to be unaffected by the Writers Guild of America’s ongoing strike.
A press release from the Writers Guild of Great Britain clarifies the “dos” and “don’ts” for writers in the United Kingdom who are currently at work, despite the ongoing strikes in the United States. Up-front, there is a paragraph indicating that writers are not permitted to work on new productions during this time:
“If the US company is a signatory to the MBA agreement, for the duration of a strike these companies count as ‘struck’ companies. WGA members in the UK are not permitted to take work with ‘struck’ companies under the WGA Strike Rules. UK writers who are not WGA members are advised not to take new work with ‘struck companies’ under Strike Rule 13, as they risk being blacklisted by the WGA in future. If the US company is not a signatory to the MBA agreement, WGA members are not permitted to work for non-signatories under WGA Working Rule 8. While there is nothing to stop non-WGA members in the UK working for non-signatories during the strike, we would advise WGGB members to seek advice from us.”
This seems like bad news on the surface until you dig a little deeper. Namely, these restrictions only apply to new productions, and thus writers who already had commitments to existing works would be unaffected, provided that the contract was made under UK law:
“If your contract was made under UK law and you were already under contract at the time the strike was called, you should continue to work normally and comply with the terms of your contract. Pre-existing work in the UK is not considered struck work by the WGA. If your contract was made under US law you should follow the WGA strike rules.”
This spells good news for UK-based Star Wars productions, such as The Acolyte (which is nearly finished with filming). The current drafts of Andor‘s remaining scripts were finished shortly before the strike began, and this likely means that rewrites should be permitted between now and when the show is expected to wrap filming in August. This might also mean that Steven Knight’s Star Wars script, set in the New Jedi Order era, will be able to keep going full steam ahead. (The last word on that was that there were a few more weeks needed to finish the first draft.)
Both The Acolyte and Andor are set to arrive in 2024, while the New Jedi Order film is expected to take the December 19, 2025 release date.
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.
