‘Hunger Games’ Stars React To Exemption From SAG-AFTRA Ongoing Strike

Fans and lovers of "The Hunger Games" franchise can now breathe a sigh of relief as things are looking up!

The production company for the show has made giant strides with the striking SAG-AFTRA union concerning another installment set to drop very soon. Details of the agreement revealed that the union would allow the cast to promote the movie as they wished even while the strike remained in full effect.

SAG-AFTRA has okayed an interim agreement with Lionsgate to commence the promotion of the upcoming "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes."

The film opens on November 17 with projections that it should gather a whooping $50 million in the first three days of release. 

The new Hunger Games movie is set 64 years before the events of the book and movie starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen and her co-stars, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Tom Blyth, and Viola Davis.

The interesting lineup of casts positions the movie to break the box office and cinema records, especially in the wake of the landmark agreement between Lionsgate and SAG-AFTRA. Many movies have experienced a huge decline in ticket sales this fall due to a lack of publicity from their casts based on the rules of SAG-AFTRA.

Another star who has secured the SAG-AFTRA interim agreement is Taylor Swift for her "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," which she heavily promoted and accompanied with a few appearances at the October 11 premiere at LA’s The Grove and social media posts.

Per Deadline, other SAG-AFTRA interim agreements include “Priscilla,” “Iron Claw,” “Dream Scenario,” and “D----s the Musical,” with their casts showing up at the film festival premieres and award events.

The SAG-AFTRA strike commenced on July 14 and is still ongoing, with various actors coming out to detail their experiences with low wages and insufficient residuals from movie producers and studios.

The rules of the strike stated that actors cannot engage in film or television productions and cannot engage in film or television production and promotional events.

The decision of the SAG-AFTRA union was met with immense appreciation and solidarity on from the casts of the show on their respective social media pages. Actress Rachel Zegler uploaded an Instagram post accompanied by a lengthy caption in the wake of the news, which read:

"I am so beyond thankful to @lionsgate and @sagaftra for working so hard throughout this strike to come to an agreement, allowing us to participate in press and promotion for our film, which comes to theatres on november 17."

Zegler added that Lionsgate’s efforts show that studios and the union can come to an agreement and value the hard work of actors and actresses as she described her experience making the film by writing:

"making this movie was hands-down one of the best experiences of my life thus far. i cannot wait to share more behind-the-scenes content with you all, the fans, who make experiences like this eight million times better. there will be lots of all of my beautiful friends from the cast, as well as appreciation for our crew, which is filled with people i love so deeply. (so watch this space! there’s more to come.)."

The post also coincided with her and her boyfriend’s anniversary which she also shared a picture to the effect as she expressed her excitement to see everyone on the press tour.

Josh Andres Rivera also followed suit on his Instagram and uploaded a movie poster featuring him and accompanied it with a picture of himself and Zegler on set. The caption read:

"Thank you @lionsgate and @sagaftra for coming to an agreement and allowing us to promote our film! On November 17 come to the theater and watch me cosplay as a teenage boy! Also feat. @rachelzegler, cheers to 2 years and 2 movies later."

Tom Blyth added to the collection of encomiums and gratitude to the SAG-AFTRA body as he uploaded a poster of his character from the movie and wrote:

"Very grateful that Lionsgate have stepped up today and signed @sagaftra ‘s Interim Agreement, demonstrating that our union’s demands are fair and equitable. Now I hope the AMPTP studios follow suit so we can get everyone back to work. I love this movie and can’t wait to share it with the fans!"