Surging COVID-19 cases may force Disney to delay Mulan’s release date

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

As another wave of COVID-19 cases spreads across select states within the U.S., it's possible that Disney's live-action MULAN will have to honor us all at a later date, yet again.

While plans to introduce new films like Russell Crowe's UNHINGED, Christopher Nolan's TENET and MULAN have been in the works for some time, sources close to Disney's next live-action adaptation have expressed their doubts about the film arriving on its intended date of July 24. With regard to both TENET and MULAN, these films will need theaters in Los Angeles and New York City to be open, seeing as they play host to two of the largest moviegoing markets in the country. Gotta make that money back and then some, y'all.

For the moment, TENET is expected to arrive as the first tentpole release since theaters were forced to close in mid-March. Good grief, that feels like forever ago at this point, doesn't it? Anyway, let us not wander down that dark rabbit hole. When it comes to MULAN, Disney needs the film to perform well in China as well, where cases of COVID-19 are also back with a vengeance. Either the world is going to have to get its act together to fight this pandemic or it could be a very long time before any potential blockbusters make their theatrical debut. You can post as many theater sanitation videos as you want, but the fact remains that a sizable portion of moviegoers simply aren't ready to return to cinemas.

Directed by WHALE RIDER and THE ZOOKEEPER'S WIFE helmer Niki Caro, MULAN tells the inspiring story of a young Chinese maiden who disguises herself as a male warrior in order to save her father.

Disney has cast a number of Asian actors to lead the film, with A-list stars such as Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and Yifei Liu set to bring the classic tale of identity, expectations, and defiance to life on the big screen. Co-starring in the film based on Disney's 1998 animated classic are Li Gong, Jason Lee Scott, Rosalind Chao, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Tzi Ma, Ron Yuan, Yoson An, Doua Moua, Jimmy Wong, Chen Tang, and Roger Yuan, among others.

Here's hoping that new cases of COVID-19 diminish in the coming weeks, and that places like movie theaters can resume business before further damage is done to an already struggling outlet for entertainment.