Just when we thought The New Mutants wouldn’t be delayed again, here comes the new coronavirus.
Following suit with studios like Paramount and Universal, Walt Disney Studios has delayed the March 27 release of Mulan, the April 3 release of The New Mutants, and the April 17 release of Antlers. As of now, it seems films coming out after April—such as Black Widow, due May 1—remain on track. No new release dates have yet been announced for any of the delayed films.
The move comes hours after rival studios delayed the releases of movies like A Quiet Place Part II and F9, and Disney itself closed its flagship theme park, Disneyland, for the remainder of the month. Of course, all of this is a cautionary response to combat the spread of the new coronavirus.
With international box office so important to film studios these days, and domestic audiences likely to stay away from theaters for at least a few weeks, these delays certainly make sense. And yet, these three films in particular have not had the easiest path to release.
Disney originally hoped Mulan would be released in 2018. Antlers was given a release date only after its initial trailer due to the Fox/Disney merger. And New Mutants—well, that’s literally another whole other story to itself.
Once these films get official updates, we’ll let you know, but the impact of coronavirus continues to be huge for the entertainment industry as well as everything else.
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