Disney has pulled ‘Mulan’ off of its release schedule entirely. It had been scheduled to open on August 21. But the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on Hollywood, as virus transmissions are only going up as Americans refuse to wear masks or avoid large gatherings. The virus is a threat all over the world, but other nations have… well, gotten their shit together and cases are decreasing rather than skyrocketing as they are here.
A Disney spokesperson stated (via Deadline):
“Over the last few months, it’s become clear that nothing can be set in stone when it comes to how we release films during this global health crisis, and today that means pausing our release plans for Mulan as we assess how we can most effectively bring this film to audiences around the world.”
Warner Brothers similarly pulled ‘Tenet’ from its schedule, and it looks as though that movie will be released in other countries as they reopen their cinemas. WB is adamant that ‘Tenet’ will open on the big screen and it will not give it away for free on HBO Max. (It cost a reported $400 million to make and needs to make over $800 million just to break even. It needs to make close to $1 billion to turn a profit.) ‘Tenet’ has been the one to watch for all other studios which have danced their movies all over the calendar in order to avoid it or to fill the void it leaves when WB abandons a date.
In addition to pulling ‘Mulan’, Disney has pushed back the unfinished/unmade ‘Avatar’ sequels and upcoming ‘Star Wars’ movies by a year. ‘Avatar 2’ moved from December 17, 2021, to December 16, 2022, ‘Avatar 3’ from Dec. 22, 2023, to Dec. 20, 2024, ‘Avatar 4’ from Dec. 19, 2025 to Dec. 18, 2026, and ‘Avatar 5’ from Dec. 27, 2027 to Dec. 22, 2028.
The upcoming, untitled ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, which may or may not be under the supervision of Taika Waititi, moved with Movie 1 shifting from Dec. 16, 2022, to Dec. 22, 2023, Movie 2 from Dec. 20, 2024, to Dec. 19, 2025, and Movie 3 from Dec. 18, 2026, to Dec. 17, 2027.
Disney has not moved: ‘New Mutants’ – Aug. 28, ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’ – Aug. 28 (limited release), ‘The King’s Man’ – Sept. 18, ‘Death on the Nile’ – Oct. 23, ‘Black Widow’ – Nov. 6, ‘Deep Water’ – Nov. 13, ‘Soul’ – Nov. 20, ‘The Empty Man’ – Dec. 4, ‘Free Guy’ – Dec. 11, or ‘West Side Story’ – Dec. 18. Yet.
Are you disappointed by these delays? Wash your hands and freakin’ MASK UP!
Source: Deadline
