Mulan opening now indefinite -- no new date announced

Liu Yifei will star in the new Mulan movie.

At this rate, we might not see the live-action Mulan movie until 2021. Because of the coronavirus, the general release of the long anticipated film has been postponed four times and no new date has been announced.

“Over the last few months, it’s become clear that nothing can be set in stone when it comes to how we release films during this global health crisis, and today that means pausing our release plans for Mulan as we assess how we can most effectively bring this film to audiences around the world,” said a Disney spokesperson.

Mulan was not alone to be victimized by the pandemic. Hollywood has postponed the opening a whole slew of films because of the coronavirus and theater closures. 

The original release of Mulan was supposed to be March 9, then it was switched to July and then once again, moved to August. The decision to hold off on the opening has to do with improving the chances for profit. The big-budget feature by Disney needs a big opening to recoup the $200 million budget of the English-speaking film with an all-Asian cast.

China just opened some of its theaters after being closed for six months because of the coronavirus. Los Angeles and New York City — the two most important movie markets in North America — still don’t have plans for any cinemas to reopen because of the bans on large gatherings due to the pandemic.

Mulan features Chinese star Liu Yifei as the legendary fearless Chinese warrior who disguises herself as a man to spare her elderly father from having to serve in the military. Unlike the original animated version of the Disney movie, the live-action film will hew closer to the myth and won't spotlight the much-loved songs of the original.