In what could only be described as the least surprising Disney-related news this week, the release of the live action adaptation of Mulan has been delayed again. Originally slated to be released March 27 of this year, the film was later pushed back to tomorrow’s date, July 24th, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of numerous factors though, including the lack of confidence in the health and safety practices at movie theaters across the United States, that date was then changed again to August 21st. However, today Disney announced that while it still has plans to release the film theatrically, for the foreseeable future there is no specific date it has in mind. In other words, the film has been delayed indefinitely.
The announcement came in the form of statement from a Walt Disney Studios spokesperson. The statement reads, “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.”
It also appears that there are no immediate plans to release Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, as it no longer has a release date. The film was slated to come out October 16th.
Aside from those two films though, there were other more major changes made to the studio’s release schedule. Earlier, on Twitter, James Cameron actually confirmed yet another delay to the numerous Avatar sequels already in development.
A message from James Cameron.
Irayo, Na’vi Nation. Stay safe. 💙 pic.twitter.com/Uwi2J6xF4k
— Avatar (@officialavatar) July 23, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Fans had finally hoped to return to Pandora next December, but now the first in the series of highly anticipated sequels will hit theaters in December of 2022. The following three sequels will then hit theaters every two years after that in 2024, 2026, and 2028.
Read: Exclusive: Disney Circling Kacey Musgraves For Role In The Live-Action ‘The Little Mermaid’
And while very little is known about the next Star Wars film, it became more apparent today that fans will have to wait even longer to return to the galaxy far, far away. The studio also confirmed that the next installment in the franchise is expected to hit theaters in 2023. Similar to Avatar, there will be a two year gap between that film and any other sequels or even other planned Star Wars stories.
Also, the former Fox-owned films The Personal History of David Copperfield and Death on the Nile are now both expected to be released on August 28, 2020 and October 23, 2020 respectively, while Antlers – which was previoulsy removed from the studio’s release schedule altogether – and the next Ben Affleck/Matt Damon project, The Last Duel have been pushed back to next year.
What’s most surprising of all though is that Disney still aims to release the seemingly cursed The New Mutants on August 28th. This confirmation comes fresh off the heels of the film’s virtual San Diego Comic Con panel this afternoon, and despite a very convincing (and later debunked) leak which hit the internet earlier this week. However, only time will tell if this date really sticks.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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