SAG-AFTRA, a union that represents 160,000 people ranging from actors to recording artists to radio personalities, has been on strike since July 13, bringing Hollywood to a standstill. Actors cannot film movies, promote their work, or cross the picket line in any way, as they protest against unfair pay, the push to replace them with AI, and more. To try and get around these strikes, Paramount is filming Sonic 3 scenes without any performers.
As reported by ScreenDaily, filming will begin in September, likely for scenes using the Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow props. No voice-over will be recorded and no actors will be present. In the Sonic movies, the animalistic characters are CGI with dubbing applied after, using props to represent them on set, but they often interact with real actors such as Jim Carrey's Eggman or James Marsden's Tom. This won't be possible if filming begins during the strikes.
What's more, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is also in the midst of a strike, protesting unfair pay, lack of residuals, and the push to replace them with AI. Some studios have even suggested using ChatGPT, despite it being an algorithmic source that simply pulls from other places to create a Frankenstein mix. Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker ran a test, asking it to create an episode. He called the results "shit" and said, "All it's done is look up the synopses of Black Mirror episodes and sort of smushed them together [...] There's not any real original thought here".
While the Sonic 3 script may be finished, rewrites happen all the time when making movies, and this will not be possible if filming begins during the strike. To give a clearer picture of what movies filmed during these conditions look like, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Terminator Salvation were made during the 2007-2008 WGA strikes. Both are hated by fans, critics, and general audiences alike.
The strikes are unlikely to end anytime soon as studios refuse to negotiate or meet demands. 87 percent of SAG-AFTRA actors don't make the minimum income of $26,470 a year which would make them eligible for health insurance. To top it off, writers and actors do not get residuals from streaming platforms, or if they do, it is very little--sometimes as low as 89 cents.
One of the major concerns SAG-AFTRA has raised during the strikes is the replacement of actors with AI. Studios allegedly suggested scanning background actors to use them in future projects without their consent and without compensation, something that Disney is alleged to have already started with WandaVision, scanning its extras for future use.
Sonic 3 might begin filming without actors in September, but there's only so much that Paramount can do with props and without rewrites in the midst of two historical strikes. It's unlikely to hold to its release date no matter its attempts to sidestep the talented people who bring its movies to life.