Here's what the actors strike means for fans

Following four weeks of failed negotiations with the AMPTP, SAG-AFTRA’s approximately 160,000 members are officially going on strike at midnight tonight PT. This marks the first time the guild—which represents actors, journalists, radio personalities, recording artists, and other media professionals—has been on strike since 1980, and the first time the union has been on strike simultaneously with the Writers Guild of America since 1960.

While the issues facing actors today—namely disappearing residuals and a lack of transparency around viewership data—may sound like behind-the-scenes details, the strike has the potential to affect anyone who is planning on seeing a movie in the next few months, which, if you’re reading this, is probably a group you fall into.

Here’s everything SAG-AFTRA members can and cannot do per the rules of the strike, and how that may affect audiences worldwide.

Actors cannot work on any new or existing projects

This one may be obvious, but from the minute the strike commenced, actors had to step away from all new and existing shoots completely. Hollywood is already 80 percent shut down due to the ongoing writer’s strike (per The New York Times), but the addition of the SAG-AFTRA strike effectively boosts that to 100 percent. All films completed before the strike was announced will still be released in theaters (so anyone who already bought Barbenheimer tickets can relax on that front), but expect a dip in content and delayed release dates down the line, depending on how long the strike keeps up.

Actors cannot promote any of their work (including at Comic-Con)

While the movies themselves will still premiere, no red carpets will be rolled out. In addition, stars are not allowed to attend press junkets, press conferences, or even post about their work on social media, as that is considered publicity. Per their press conference on Thursday afternoon, they are also not allowed to promote any work produced under the AMPTP banner, including past work. This ruling also extends to San Diego Comic-Con, scheduled for later this month. Actors are not allowed to take part in any panels and are encouraged to skip the event completely.

This means no more chicken shop dates with Andrew Garfield, no more Tom Cruise surprising Mission: Impossible audiences in the theater, and—let’s take a quick moment of silence—no more Hot Ones. For actors, that is. None of these rules apply to non-SAG-covered entertainers, such as musicians and athletes, who have appeared on the popular interview series before. With that in mind…

Expect to see a lot more unscripted material

While broadcast journalists, talk show hosts, soap opera stars, and some reality stars are members of SAG-AFTRA, they operate on a different contract from film actors and will therefore be unaffected by the strike (per Entertainment Weekly). So viral moments like the Philly news anchor who dressed up as Beyoncé on air will still happen, as will The Bachelorette—just don’t expect any Top Gun-style airplane hangar challenges this time around.

Some select international productions will continue filming

In very specific cases, filming will be allowed to continue. House Of The Dragon’s second season is continuing to film in London, for example, because most of the cast is covered under the U.K.-based union Equity and are not allowed to strike in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA, per strict U.K. union laws (via Variety.) So there may be some Targaryen drama mixed in with the shenanigans at SUR.