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The Coronavirus has halted many a business, with the film industry taking a rather big hit when many theatres were ordered to close as a move to encourage social distancing and keeping everyone at home.
This resulted in forcing the hands of movie studios to delay the theatrical release of most of their movies that were slated for release since late March 2020 onwards.
Check out the list below to see when each highly anticipated movie of 2020 is slated for release.
1. Disney’s Mulan
Disney’s Mulan had the unfortunate role of being one of the first of its studio’s films to have their release delayed, which happened not long after the movie’s World Premiere in LA on March 9.
Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father 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.
For those of you who are familiar with Disney’s track record with live-action remakes so far, don’t let this one fool you because we’re told that the 2020 remake will not have any of the musical numbers you fell in love with in the original.
Nevertheless, first reactions from early audiences who had the privilege of screening the movie before the big bad virus took it away had us all excited and envious. See what they have to say here:
New release date: Jul 23
2. Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman 1984 won’t be coming out in June as originally planned thanks to the coronavirus pandemic shutting down movie theaters. As of now, the DC Comics sequel is slated for release in August, but we’re still getting new details about the movie thanks to magazines who had to prep their promotional spreads for the movie months in advance.
Empire released the new photos, along with some details about the movie from Gal Gadot herself:
The first movie was a coming of age, it was Diana becoming Wonder Woman. She was very naive and she didn’t understand the complexities of life. A fish out of water. In this movie, that’s not the case whatsoever. Diana has evolved. She’s much more mature and very wise. However, she’s very lonely. She lost all of her team members and she’s guarded. And then something crazy happens.
Here's the photo of Wonder Woman in her golden army glory to tide you over while you wait for the movie to be released.
New release date: Aug 13
3. A Quiet Place Part II
In A Quiet Place Part II, the Abbott family must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.
The film has been delayed amid concerns around the escalating coronavirus pandemic. Adding on to the announcement of its delayed release, the director of this highly anticipated sequel, John Krasinski, released the following statement:
“One of the things I’m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together. Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what’s going on in the world around us, now is clearly not the right time to do that. As insanely excited as we are for all of you to see this movie .. I’m gonna wait to release the film till we CAN all see it together! So here’s to our group movie date! See you soon!”
New release date: Sept 3
4. Marvel Studios’ Black Widow
Following the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), Natasha Romanoff finds herself alone and forced to confront a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Romanoff must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
Fans of Natasha have been gunning for a solo Black Widow film for years and now that that’s finally come to fruition, we are forced to wait a little longer. On the bright side, Marvel Studios blessed us with trailers to tide use over while we wait.
Watch it again below:
New release date: Oct 29
5. Disney/Pixar's Soul
Directed by Pete Docter, Disney/Pixar's Soul centers on a middle-school music teacher (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who dreams of being a jazz performer. But before his big break, he gets in an accident that causes his soul to be separated from his body. He’s then transported to the “You Seminar,” where he teams up with 22 (voiced by Tina Fey) to return his soul back to his body on Earth before it’s too late.
Soul was supposed to be the second Pixar title to debut this year following Disney/Pixar's Onward that hit the big screen just before movie theaters were forced to close due to the global health crisis.
With the rescheduling of Disney/Pixar's Soul, the Walt Disney Studios officially does not have any major films set to open in theaters until the end of July.
New release date: Nov 19
6. Free Guy
Free Guy stars Ryan Reynolds as a bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game and decides to become the hero of his own story, one he rewrites himself. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way before it is too late. Directed by Shawn Levy, the film also stars Taika Waititi, Jodie Comer and Joe Keery.
Following the announcement of its new release date, in true Reynolds fashion, he cheekily shares a new never before seen teaser clip of the film on his YouTube channel. Check it out below:
New release date: Dec 10
7. Top Gun: Maverick
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late best friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, known as "Goose.” Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.
New release date: Dec 23
8. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is the fourth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. It is placed thirty years after the second film; a family moves to a small town, where they feel their affection with the original Ghostbusters and their grandfather’s secret legacy.
It stars Paul Rudd, Bill Murray, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Dan Aykroyd and more.
New release date: Mar 4, 2021
9. Sony/Marvel's Morbius
Even Marvel’s living vampire couldn’t avoid the effects of the Coronavirus forcing theatres around the world to close. Much like with Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Sony Pictures has made the decision to cancel the original July premiere for Morbius and push the film’s release date back to March 2021.
Morbius is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Michael Morbius, a scientist suffering from a rare blood disease, tries a dangerous cure that afflicts him with a form of vampirism.
New release date: Mar 18, 2021
10. Disney's Jungle Cruise
One of the biggest shifts in schedule for 2020's slate of films is Disney's Jungle Cruise which has been pushed back a full year, to July 2021.
Star of the film, Dwayne Johnson had this to say following the announcement of the film's new release date:
We had some tremendous conversations with ourselves, Seven Bucks, Disney leadership team about making sure that the Disney theme parks are fully operation, the Disney Cruise lines are fully operational, functional… but more importantly than that it was very important that everyone had an emotional confidence, not only here in the states but also around the world. That emotional confidence allows us to get our kids back to school. It allows us to get back to work, feeling good about that. Our Disney employees, our Disney team members to get back to work and spread that joy and happiness.
Set during the early 20th century, a riverboat captain named Frank takes a scientist and her brother on a mission into a jungle to find the Tree of Life which is believed to possess healing powers. All the while, the trio must fight against dangerous wild animals and a competing German expedition.
New release date: Jul 29, 2021
Want to know more about the fates of other films scheduled for release in 2020? Check out the full list in the link below!
A Full List of 2020 Films with New Release Dates