One of the hardest things to watch as COVID-19 reshapes our society is the death toll that continues to climb — I lead with that statement so you’ll know that I do recognize there is a difference in loss of life and movies for your entertainment. That said, taking a look at the Hollywood landscape, it’s very uncertain.

Disney has finally given us some dates for their upcoming pictures, including Mulan, which was already to have been released a few weeks ago, to Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest tentpole, “Black Widow”, which had a release date of early May.  And just recently, the upcoming “Jungle Cruise” film has been met with a new date. While Disney was slated to already have a down year — 2019’s release of “Avengers Endgame” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is a hard act to follow — 2020 still was looking positive, as Mulan was already receiving good early buzz and looked to set itself apart from other Disney live action princess movies… The prequel “Black Widow” (set between “Captain America Civil War” and “Avengers Infinity War” was to be the transition film from the end of “Endgame” leading to the new films of Phase 4… and after the whimpering end of the Pirates franchise, Disney was truly hoping that “Jungle Cruise” would be the lead off film in a new franchise series.

Now all three have new release dates with Magical fingers crossed that all will release without a hitch.

@Joshgad ‘s tweet from April 3, 2020

The other big news is the film “Artemis Fowl”, which was slated to be released last August, then pushed back to May 29 of this year, then suspended because of current events. Disney finally pulled the trigger on it, now scheduled to put it straight to streaming service Disney+.  What is “Artemis Fowl”, you may ask? According to Disney, “Artemis Fowl is a 12-year-old genius and descendant of a long line of criminal masterminds. He soon finds himself in an epic battle against a race of powerful underground fairies who may be behind his father’s disappearance.”

The Kenneth Branaugh (Thor, Hamlet) directed film stars Josh Gad, Judi Dench, and Ferdia Shaw.  Gad (the voice of Olaf in the Frozen films) said on Twitter today: “Since you can’t come to us, we’re coming to you. So thrilled we are able to bring #ArtemisFowl to your homes soon on @disneyplus so that everyone can experience this magical film. NOTHING can ever replace going to a theater, but during these hard times it’s important to adapt.”

No word on when it will premiere on Disney+

Here is the updated Disney theatrical release schedule.

  • Mulan – July 24, 2020
  • Black Widow – November 6th, 2020
  • Eternals – February 12, 2021
  • Shang-Chi – May 7, 2021
  • Jungle Cruise – July 30, 2021
  • Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness – November 5, 2021
  • Thor: Love & Thunder – February 28, 2022
  • Black Panther 2 – May 8, 2022
  • Captain Marvel 2 – July 8, 2022

Stay tuned for more updates!