With many parts of the world continuing to be in lockdown because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Disney announced new release dates for several of its productions on Friday, including Black Widow. The Scarlett Johansson-starrer has been pushed to November 6 from May 1.
Pixar’s animated film Soul is still scheduled for June 19. Mulan will now be out on July 24, and will replace Jungle Cruise, which has been moved to July 30, 2021. “Sources at Disney note that release dates for all films could continue to move given the uncertainty over the global health crisis,” Variety said in a report.
Artemis Fowl, the fantasy adventure adapted from Eoin Colfer’s book series of the same name, will be directly streamed on Disney+ sometime in April. Kenneth Branagh’s movie was originally scheduled for a theatrical release in May.
The King’s Man, Matthew Vaughn’s prequel in the Kingsman series, will be out on September 18, followed by the Agatha Christie adaptation Death on the Nile on October 9. Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch has been moved from July 24 to October 16. Steven Spielberg’s version of the musical West Side Story will stick to its scheduled release date of December 18.
The Marvel movie The Eternals has been shifted to February 12, 2021. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has been rescheduled to May 7, 2021. The Doctor Strange sequel is aiming for November 5, 2021.
Other studios have similarly rejigged their calendars. The Tom Cruise-starrer Top Gun: Maverick has been moved from June 24 to December 23. Universal’s Trolls sequel Trolls World Tour, which was scheduled for April 10, will bypass cinemas altogether and be directly streamed on the same date.