San Diego Comic-Con 2023: several panels and signings cancelled due to actors’ strike

After the writers who have been on strike since May, it’s now the turn of the actors and actresses of the SAG-AFTRA union to stop working in Hollywood. The effects of this strike are already being felt at San Diego Comic-Con 2023.

Many panels cancelled

While some studios had decided to skip the 2023 edition in anticipation of the strike, others had begun to unveil their lineups for this unmissable pop culture event. Now that the actors’ strike is official, studios and networks are having to adjust accordingly.

Prime Video, for example, cancelled its Good Omens panel and signing, replacing it with a screening of the first episode of Season 2. The streaming platform has also cancelled a panel focusing on Gen V, the spinoff of The Boys that will air in September.

Cruel Summer, The Wheel of Time, and Interview with the Vampire, whose seasons 2 were to be presented at San Diego Comic-Con, will also be deprived of panels. As will Orphan Black: Echoes, the spinoff of the hit AMC series.

That ’70s Show, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, has also had its anniversary panel cancelled. Fans of the show were expected to join Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith, who play Kitty and Red Forman, for a Q&A session.

Other panels are expected to join this list in the coming days.

How will this affect other conventions and comic cons?

SAG-AFTRA states on its website that member actors and actresses are not allowed to participate in the promotion of series/films produced by members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). This includes interviews, conventions, festivals, comic cons, panels, previews, screenings, and awards ceremonies.

But what about events and conventions organized by private companies not affiliated with the studios? According to information published by several organizers on their social networks, these events should not be (overly) affected. However, they add that actors and actresses may not be able to discuss their past or future projects if they were filmed under a SAG-AFTRA contract.