After several months of discussions, the Writers Guild of America has officially been on strike since the beginning of May.
As with most things, the situation ultimately came down to money, with the Guild unable to reach acceptable terms with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The former was seeking a new contract that would increase pay and benefits for writers by $429 million over three years, only to receive an offer of $86 million in return.
Another, arguably even more important goal, is ensuring the art of writing itself is preserved. Those demands range from stopping projects being "written" by A.I. to the role of writers' rooms from start to finish on TV shows (which is complicated by the fact some have only a single credited scribe).
One of those shows is The Mandalorian, a series primarily written by showrunner Jon Favreau. While the creator confirmed some time ago that he's already penned season 4's scripts, Deadline confirms the Disney+ series has become the latest show to halt work due to the strike.
While a fourth season hasn't been officially announced, it's no secret more episodes are in the works, and the trade explains that the start of production is being pushed back.
"I hear filming on Season 4 of The Mandalorian has been slated to begin in September," reads the report. "While there is some breathing room, I hear filming will likely be delayed. A rep for Lucasfilm had no comment."
During a WGA strike, writers are not allowed to be present on set, and there are ethical issues with them continuing producing and showrunner duties (hence why Tony Gilroy recently confirmed he will no longer work on Andor after finishing season 2's scripts).
Hopefully, the strike will be resolved sooner rather than later. We're in week three, but the last one went for 100 days.
On the plus side, we have this to look forward to...