Disney has overhauled its entire release slate in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and here’s the reasoning behind their release date changes. As those reading this are no doubt aware, the COVID-19 outbreak has dominated the entertainment news cycle (and news in general) in the U.S. for the past few weeks. Theaters across the country have closed down to prevent further spread of the virus and people have been encouraged to self-quarantine at home as much as possible, with some cities going on a full-blown lockdown. Meanwhile, most film and TV productions have shut down and the movie release calendar has been wiped clean through to mid-June. Even July’s pretty empty now, as many suspect theater attendance will still be down by then (assuming they reopen in June as hoped – and that’s not at all a given at the moment).
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For Disney, the pandemic has already taken a heavy toll. The studio is losing millions a day from closing their theme parks and had to postpone potential billion-dollar hits like Mulan and Black Widow from their original spring 2020 release dates. In response, the studio has announced a completely revamped release slate for the next couple years. This includes all their in-studio productions in addition to those from Marvel Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and the former Fox labels 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures.
Due to the sheer number of properties Disney has acquired over the last ten to fifteen years, it’s all but impossible for them to change the release date for one film without moving another one at this point. This, in turn, explains why some movies have been pushed back as far as a year following the Mouse House’s announcement. Keeping that in mind, here’s a breakdown of every change Disney made.
Free Guy
An original movie from 20th Century Studios, Free Guy stars Ryan Reynolds as an NPC who suddenly realizes he exists in an open-world video game. The film was set to open over this year’s Fourth of July holiday frame, but has now moved back five months to December 11. Disney didn’t have a movie scheduled for that date before now, but is still planning to release Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story a week later. Presumably, the studio feels Free Guy is the type of four-quadrant film that could potentially have long legs over the winter holiday season without directly competing with Spielberg’s musical.
Bob’s Burgers
A feature adaptation of the still-running Fox cartoon sitcom (which premiered in 2011), Bob’s Burgers was originally scheduled to open this summer on July 17, but has since been postponed to April 9, 2021. The latter spot had previously been claimed for an untitled Fox movie, so it will simply go to Bob’s Burgers instead. Save for The Boss Baby 2 (assuming it premieres two weeks earlier, as currently planned), 20th Century Studios’ animated musical will mostly have families to itself on that date.
Mulan
Disney’s live-action remake of its animated feature Mulan (an adaptation of the famous Chinese legend) was originally schedule to opened in March, but will now arrive on July 24 instead. The date had previously been reserved for Jungle Cruise (more on that shortly), so Disney merely swapped out one tentpole for another. As indicated earlier, though, some feel Mulan‘s new date is too optimistic and believe the box office will be too slow for it to perform the way Disney wants it to on that spot. Don’t be surprised if Disney delays this one again, for that very reason.
Jungle Cruise
The live-action adaptation of Disney’s popular Jungle Cruise theme park ride was all set to go this summer, but has now been affected by the coronavirus (as star Dwayne Johnson recently indicated it could be). With its old date going to Mulan, Jungle Cruise has shifted back an entire year to July 30, 2021 instead. Disney had previously staked out that spot for an untitled live-action movie, so there was already room for Johnson’s vehicle on that date. At the same time, the studio shifted another film out of July 2021 to lighten the competition, bringing us to our next entry…
Indiana Jones 5
Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones 5 has been delayed yet again because of Disney’s changes, moving from July 9, 2021 to a July 29, 2022 release date. In part, this was to avoid pitting the film against Jungle Cruise, but it was also because its Spring 2020 production start was delayed by the coronavirus (not to mention, Steven Spielberg stepping down as director). Fortunately, Disney had already claimed the date for an untitled MCU movie that’s since been revealed as Captain Marvel 2. The latter will now take the July 8, 2020 date Disney set for an untitled live-action film instead, with Indiana Jones 5 filling its former place.
The French Dispatch
Searchlight Pictures’ latest collaboration with filmmaker Wes Anderson, The French Dispatch was previously scheduled to serve as counter-programming to Jungle Cruise on July 24 this summer. But again, given the concerns about the status of the box office that month, Disney has decided to delay the film and now intends to release it three months later on October 16. This new date is far more awards season-friendly and will position The French Dispatch as an alternative to Halloween Kills during its opening weekend – so, all in all, it’s a smart move.
Black Widow
Pre-coronavirus, Marvel’s long-awaited Black Widow solo movie was all ready to kick-off the 2020 summer blockbuster season on May 1. However, after it was delayed last month, it was obvious the film would ultimately have a domino effect on the rest of the MCU’s Phase 4 slate, despite being set earlier in the MCU timeline. That’s exactly what’s happened and the film has since been postponed to November 6, putting Black Widow in the spot previously reserved for Marvel’s Eternals.
Eternals
With its former date going to Black Widow, Eternals has subsequently moved out of 2020 to February 12, 2021. The date had previously been claimed for Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, so Disney merely swapped out one MCU release for another. Luckily, Eternals wrapped filming back in February and has been able to continue post-production remotely in the wake of the coronavirus. In other words, the film only really stands to benefit from having an extra three months to refine its visual and audial effects.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is one of numerous movies that’s been forced to shut down production because of the COVID-19 pandemic, putting its previous February 12, 2021 release date into question. But again, things have worked out nicely and the film will now have an additional three months to wrap up before it releases on May 7, 2021, taking the prime pre-summer spot previously staked out for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The latter could use more development time anyway, as we’ll get to next.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Even with the coronavirus bringing Hollywood to a standstill, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has reportedly been continuing pre-production remotely and was gearing up to begin filming in June, ahead of its scheduled release on May 7, 2021. Still, after bringing in both a new director (Sam Raimi) and writer (Michael Waldron) earlier this year, the sequel will surely benefit from not having to rush as much. Instead, it will now release six months later on November 5, 2021, taking Thor: Love & Thunder‘s old spot on the calendar.
Thor: Love & Thunder
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Taika Waititi had been readying to begin shooting his followup to Thor: Ragnarok, Love & Thunder, later this year. It’s possible production will shift back to 2021 now, which will still give the Thor sequel plenty of time to make its new date on February 18, 2022. Disney has already claimed that spot for an untitled Marvel movie (which it’s since removed), so Love & Thunder‘s move thankfully won’t have a direct impact on any other titles the Mouse House has currently got in the pipeline.
