Mulan and Black Widow among major Disney films to get new release dates

Disney has given new release dates to a string of blockbuster movies, with cinemas closed for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Big-budget remake Mulan was originally set for release in March but was one of the early casualties of the global health crisis.

Disney has now said it will arrive in the US on July 24.

Marvel film Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz, will hit cinemas on November 6. It was originally slated for May.

Other high-profile films to get a new release date include Marvel’s The Eternals, which is set for February next year, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, aiming for May 2021, Doctor Strange 2 in November 2021, and Thor: Love And Thunder in February 2022.

Black Panther 2 is still set for a May 2022 release, Disney said, while Captain Marvel 2 will arrive in July 2022.

Family adventure Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, has been pushed from July this year to July 2021.

Indiana Jones 5, which will see Harrison Ford reprise one of his most famous roles, had been set to launch in summer 2021, but has been pushed back to July 2022.

Sci-fi fantasy film Artemis Fowl had been listed for the end of May but will instead debut on the Disney Plus streaming service, becoming the studio’s first film to skip its theatrical release due to the pandemic.

Disney is the latest Hollywood studio to delay a string of releases.

Sony earlier rearranged its big hitters including Morbius and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, while Paramount pushed back Top Gun: Maverick on Thursday.

Film production has all but closed down due to coronavirus, with some experts predicting the final cost to the industry may run into the tens of billions of dollars.