Marvel Cinematic Universe reshuffles release calendar; Black Widow takes up date of The Eternals, Mulan moves to July

The Walt Disney Co on Friday overhauled its release schedule by moving the dates of half a dozen Marvel movies, announcing a new one for the live-action adaption of Mulan and pushing one movie, Artemis Fowl, to Disney Plus, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the following films [caption id=“attachment_8227521” align=“alignnone” width=“1200”] Marvel and Disney reshuffled its film calendar for the next two years. Image from Twitter[/caption] 2020 _**Mulan**_ Mulan, which had been scheduled for March and already had its red carpet premiere, will now open 24 July. The official synopsis of Mulan reads, “When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential.” Apart from Liu Yifei, the film also stars Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan, Yoson An as Cheng Honghu, Gong Li as Xianniang, and Jet Li as the Emperor. _**Black Widow**_ Black Widow, the Marvel entry starring Scarlett Johansson, had been set to kick off the summer movie season. Instead, Disney said it will now open on 6 November. Such delays have unique ramifications for Marvel movies because of their interconnection. With Black Widow on the move, that meant a domino effect, pushing most all upcoming Marvel releases back at least three months. Black Widow took the release date of The Eternals. 2021 _**The Eternals**_ The Eternals moves to 21 February next year. Featuring Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, and Kumail Nanjiani, the film is helmed by Chloe Zhao. Dubbed as MCU’s next spectacle property after Avengers Saga, The Eternals is based on the 1976 comic book series created by Jack Kirby. The project will feature the super-powered and near-immortal beings known as Eternals and a more monstrous offshoot known as the Deviants that were created by cosmic beings known as Celestials. _**Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings**_ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings departs from February for 7 May, 2021. Featuring Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, alongside Tony Leung and Awkwafina, the film centres on Shang-Chi, a half-Chinese, half-American superhero created by writer Steve Englehart and pencilled in by Jim Starlin in 1973. Often referred to as the “Master of Kung Fu”, Shang-Chi is well-acquainted with numerous unarmed and weaponry-based wushu styles, including the use of the gun, nunchaku, and Jian. He was trained to be martial artist assassin by his father, the infamous pulp villain Fu Manchu. Later, he joined the Avengers and gained the power of making multiple duplicates of himself. _**Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness**_ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness shifts from next May to 5 November, 2021. The film features Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, and Benedict Wong. Not much is known about the film, except for that Benedict Cumberbatch will return as the Sorcerer Supreme. 2022 _**Thor: Love and Thunder**_ Thor: Love and Thunder is pushed three months, to 18 February, 2022. Taika Waititi is back in the director’s chair after delivering MCU’s 2017 blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok. Chris Hemsworth will once again play Norse god Thor, while Natalie Portman is returning as Jane Foster. Thompson will be reprising her character of Valkyrie. Other projects While Disney shifted nearly all of its big-budget movies, it’s going to send one to its streaming service. The Kenneth Branagh-directed science fiction adventure adaptation _Artemis Fowl_ will go to Disney Plus instead of opening in theaters. The movie had originally been slated for release last August but had been rescheduled for May of this year. With the exception of Universal’s Trolls World Tour, the major studios have chosen to delay their top releases rather than push them to digital release and sacrifice box-office revenue. _Jungle Cruise_ , with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, is being pushed back a full year to 30 July, 2021. The release of the fifth Indiana Jones movie, which Steven Spielberg last month departed as director with James Mangold replacing him, is also being delayed a full year, to July 2022. Harrison Ford will be 80 years old by then. Wes Anderson’s _The French Dispatch_ is also postponed from July to 16 October. (With inputs from The Associated Press)