'Mulan' movie's general release planned for this summer

The world premiere of Mulan was held in Hollywood on March 9 with much of its international cast in attendance.

Disney Studios announced that the much-anticipated general release of Mulan will be July 24. The original release date was supposed to be March 27, but then -- coronavirus happened and the world changed.

With much of China in quarantine last March, to play safe, the studio postponed the original March opening because it wants to have maximum US and international exposure and attendance for this big-budget feature starring a bevy of Chinese and Asian American stars. Disney hopes people will be allowed to attend the movies again by mid-summer.

“To avoid catastrophic losses to the studios, these titles must have the fullest possible theatrical release around the world,” an earlier statement from the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) reads.

The delayed opening of Mulan has a domino-like effect on a bunch of other Disney-Marvel productions pushing their releases. back.

With the Mulan release moving to the summer, that bumped the Scarlett Johansson Marvel flick, Black Widow to November 6, which was supposed to be the opening of The Eternals, featuring new Marvel superheroes Gemma Chan and the buffed up Kumail Nanjiani.

The new opening date for The Eternals will be Feb. 12, 2021, which was supposed be our first look at Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, starring Simu Liu.

The first Marvel flick with an Asian hero in the lead role played by Chinese Canadian Liu, the Shang-Chi flick now is scheduled to open on May 7, 2021.

Before the self-isolate mandate went into full effect to combat the spread of the coronavirus, on March 9 Mulan had its red-carpet premiere in Hollywood to generally rave reviews from those in attendance. These glittery affairs are usually invitation only for audiences who have something at stake in the film's success.