BY THR STAFF | HollywoodReporter.Com

Troy Warren for CNT

The current agreement, which was reached last September, was set to expire on June 30.

Hollywood’s major studios and guilds are once again extending their return-to-work talks.

The current contract was scheduled to expire June 30, after getting a three month extension from the original April date. But the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the industry’s top guilds — including SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, the DGA, the Teamsters and the Basic Crafts — have agreed to keep the current protocols in place for longer.

A joint statement from the negotiating parties said they were “taking necessary time to negotiate COVID-19 safety agreement modifications” and that the current protocols, which were laid out by them all last September after months of negotiation, will stay in place until a new agreement is reached.

The new extension will give them even more time to hash out the details of the updated on-set protocols, and determine whether vaccines should be mandatory on film and television sets. As of now, they are not — but strict safety protocols, including mask-wearing, social distancing and frequent testing, are being followed to keep COVID-19 from spreading.

The news comes as the situation with COVID-19 remains fluid around the world. While vaccination rates have gone up, the new highly-contagious Delta variant of the virus has had some authorities and businesses recommending mask-wearing again.

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