New York (AFP)
The releases of the big budget film "Mulan", as well as the future shutters of the "Star Wars" and "Avatar" sagas were postponed Thursday by the Disney studio, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Already postponed twice, the last time to August 21, the release of the live-action version of the famous cartoon "Mulan" has this time been postponed to an unspecified date.
After the postponement of "Tenet", the other big poster planned for this summer and on which the theater operators were counting to restart attendance, it is the second pillar of the summer calendar that is collapsing.
"In recent months, it has become clear that nothing can be set in stone about how we release films," a spokesperson for the Disney studio told several US media.
"Today that means we are bracketing our + Mulan + release plans + time to determine how we can most effectively present this film to viewers around the world," the spokesperson added.
At the same time, Disney announced that the release schedule for future episodes of the “Star Wars” and “Avatar” sagas has been shifted by one year.
The second part of "Avatar" will be released in December 2022 and the tenth episode of "Star Wars" in December 2023, rather than in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
The releases will then be staggered every two years, "Avatar" in 2024, 2026 and 2028, "Star Wars" in 2025 and 2027.
In a message posted to his Twitter account, "Avatar" director, screenwriter and co-producer James Cameron explained that the delay was due to delays in the production schedule.
If the production started well, with delay, in New Zealand for the real shots, the special effects work, planned in Los Angeles, has still not started, due to the pandemic.
At the beginning of April, Disney had already decided to postpone the release of a dozen Marvel films and other big productions including "Black Widow", with Scarlett Johansson in the title role.
The release is now scheduled for November, which automatically shifts other films in the series to come.
© 2020 AFP