Sam Asghari’s ‘Special Ops: Lioness’ Premiere Canceled Due To SAG-AFTRA Strike

Actor Sam Asghari and his wife Britney Spears are not going to be able to make a red carpet-appearance together.

It's been a while since the couple, who tied the knot in June 2022, were able to walk the red carpet together. Although it looks like they had a perfect opportunity to attend the premiere of "Special Ops: Lioness" together, the red carpet premiere has been canceled due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

On Thursday night, the Iranian actor took to his Instagram Stories to share a link to Deadline, announcing that the “Special Ops: Lioness” premiere had been canceled due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Paramount+ released a statement on Thursday announcing their decision to cancel the premiere, which was scheduled to take place next week.

“In light of today’s news of an official SAG strike, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the red carpet premiere of Special Ops: Lioness, planned for Tuesday, July 18,” read a statement from the streamer.

“We recognize this is disappointing news and apologize for any inconvenience it causes,” the statement continued. “We are very excited to celebrate the series and can’t wait for it to debut to Paramount+ audiences on July 23rd.”

The series features an all-star cast of Zoe Saldana, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, and Jill Wagner. The series, created by Taylor Sheridan, follows Zoe Saldana’s character “Joe,” as she attempts to balance her personal and professional life in the CIA’s war on terror. She enlists Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira), a Marine Raider, as an undercover operative in the Lioness Program.

Although events are being canceled in light of the strike, Disney plans on going through with the world premiere of “Haunted Mansion” at Disneyland this Saturday, at least for now.

On Thursday night, TMZ revealed that there are many new rules for actors to follow as the strike goes into effect. This includes everything from making in-person appearances to even just tweeting about projects. 160,000 union members are required to follow these rules until the strike ends. Actors may not act, sing, or do any motion capture work in front of the camera as long as the strike goes on.

However, there is much more to this strike than just stepping in front of the camera. Actors also may not do any voice acting, narrating, or re-recording their own voice for a scene, which is known in the industry as dubbing. Actors also cannot attend costume fittings, make-up tests, or rehearsals. They also cannot audition for upcoming projects at this time.

There is also a ban on the promotion of current or future projects. Actors cannot do interviews, tours, fan expos, conventions, podcast appearances, or award shows. They also cannot post about a project on social media. Although studios can still air pre-recorded promos, SAG-AFTRA has asked publicists to add a disclaimer noting that the work was completed by the actor ahead of the strike.

These rules do not just apply to actors. Stand-ins and background actors are also forbidden from crossing the picket line, which starts on Friday, July 14. Anyone who does cross the picket line will be denied entry into the union, making those in the industry even more hesitant to do so.

A handful of panels and signings at San Diego Comic-Con have already been canceled as the actor’s strike begins. Although it is one of the biggest pop culture events of the year, “The Rookie” has canceled its scheduled signing event, and “That ‘70s Show” has pulled the plug on its anniversary panel, as per TMZ.

The outlet also noted that the highly-anticipated second season of “Good Omens” has canceled its plans to do both a panel and a signing. However, they will still show the season two premiere at an advanced screening for fans.

Sam Asghari has been sharing many behind-the-scenes photos and clips from his work on "Special Ops: Lioness" on social media, but it looks like all of that will change amid the SAG-AFTRA strike.