Disney Cancels Mulan European Red Carpet, Premiere Screening Is Still Happening
Courtesy of movieweb.com:
With the continuous chaos of coronavirus ongoing, Disney has now decided to cancel the red carpet portion of the movie’s European premiere of the upcoming fantasy epic Mulan. The decision comes amid the growing outbreak of COVID-19. The European premiere was scheduled to take place in London on Thursday evening, but Disney has opted to scale back the glitz and glamour due to safety concerns surrounding the infamous coronavirus. While the screening will go ahead as planned, the red carpet ceremony has now been canceled following an official statement from Disney.
“In an abundance of caution we are downscaling this evening’s premiere of Mulan and will no longer have a media line or red carpet, we will however continue to host the premiere screening as a contained inside screening event.”
Mulan will also miss out on its release in China for the time being, at least until the situation has settled down. Despite this disruption recent box office predictions suggest that the movie could still have a successful opening in the United States. Currently Mulan is the first PG-13 live-action Disney remake, and so a lot is riding on the movie being a success.
Battling against the current circumstances will make things difficult, but if Mulan emerges as a financial win for Disney that will make this particular victory all the sweeter. Early critical reactions of the movie suggest that Disney could well have another hit on their hands, provided it performs well enough at the box office.
The ongoing spread of coronavirus around the world has caused much chaos for Hollywood and the entertainment industry, including the cancellation of numerous events and the delay of a lot of high-profile releases. So far, SXSW has been canceled, while studios such as MGM and Universal have announced that Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film, No Time to Die, would be postponed to November, as well as the upcoming horror A Quiet Place 2 being delayed indefinitely.
Mulan follows Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father in fighting in the Imperial Chinese Army to defend the country from Huns. She is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. Disguised as a man by the name of Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her innermost strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father.
The movie is directed by Niki Caro, with the screenplay by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek, and Elizabeth Martin. Mulan is based on the Chinese folklore “The Ballad of Mulan” and is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1998 animated film of the same name. The film stars Liu Yifei in the title role, alongside Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Gong Li, and Jet Li in supporting roles. The movie is scheduled to his theaters on March 27, 2020. This comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.
