James Gunn’s guild has expelled Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar for writing on The Sympathizer during the 2023 work stoppage, according to a notice circulated by the union and subsequent industry reports. The pair, credited across the seven-episode HBO adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel, were found to have violated strike rules that barred new writing and on-set script work while negotiations were halted.
The guild said three unresolved cases tied to the 2023 strike were finalized this week, with Park and McKellar removed from membership and another writer, Anthony Cipriano, suspended until May 1, 2026. Cipriano also received a public censure and a lifetime ban on serving as a strike captain. The union added that all Article X proceedings arising from the strike have now concluded.
Earlier this year members upheld penalties against four writers in related cases, including expulsions and a one-year suspension, and the board has now chosen to make the latest decisions public. Coverage of the action notes that neither Park nor McKellar appealed, a procedural option that can delay disclosure because contested cases are named earlier.
The Sympathizer, released in 2024 with Robert Downey Jr. in multiple roles, credited Park and McKellar as co-showrunners and writers; they are listed on every episode alongside additional collaborators. The enforcement action follows months of scrutiny over alleged strike-period work on the series, which filmed in California with state tax credits and premiered to significant attention last spring.
The expulsion arrives amid a busy stretch for Park. His new feature, No Other Choice, is slated to premiere in Venice later this month before opening the Busan International Film Festival, underscoring his active slate outside U.S. television. McKellar, a longtime Canadian filmmaker and playwright, has continued stage and screen projects across North America.
