Deadline first reported last week that the future of Mulan’s cinematic theatrical release is in questions from the Media-Titan. While Disney is rushing to re-open its largest revenue stream, its Amusement Parks, there is still a lot in question. If they are unable to realize a profit when they re-open at only a fraction of the capacity, they are going to have to make some big decisions.
While nothing has officially been announced, the much-anticipated Live-Action Re-make of the 1999 Classic Mulan, has already been pushed back several times. The Film originally slated for a March 2020 Release Date was one of the early titles to be re-assigned, its new Theatrical Debut prepared for July 2020. We are now a month away from its re-worked release and movie theaters are still closed. Right now, Disney is gambling that a majority of theaters will be re-open by July 24th and that audiences will be comfortable going to theaters to view their product.
Mulan has already had its LA Premiere before COVID closures and many are speculating that Disney will not want to continue to push back its release if July is still not feasible. Its alternative? Disney + VOD (video on demand) release. Production and Marketing costs push Mulan to $200M Budget. They are trying to make as much money as they can as parks, operations and films are starting to re-open. Right now, they are afraid that since they are unable to stuff its Amusement Parks with visitors and they cannot guarantee that theaters will be packed during its slated opening weekend, that they will not make a profit. One way to guarantee an audience to view its product, release via VOD so they can watch in their homes.
No official decision has been announced, but I would give it 70:30 Odds that we see Mulan's premier either pushed back again, or released on VOD.
Mulan is the latest Live-Action Re-Make from Disney, but certainly not the first. Just in the last 5-years, Disney has re-made 6 High-Profile Disney Blockbusters: Cinderella (2015), Jungle Book (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019) and The Lion King (2019) just to name a few. And there are more coming!
Why the sudden increase in re-making movie content that most people have already seen? Easy, they need to pay for their service, Disney +. When Disney + launched in Fall of 2019, it needed to gain control of all of its content that it had traded out to other platforms. In order to encourage subscribers, Disney needed to make the promise that all of its original content would be available on Disney + and nowhere else, otherwise they wouldn’t have seen the numbers that it did. In order to collect the re-distributed content back to house it under one-roof, they needed some serious cash to back them up. Where did this cash come from? Re-Makes and Superhero Sagas. In 2019 alone, Disney released more content than it ever had with the following releases: Captain Marvel (March), Dumbo (March), Avengers: End Game (April), Aladdin (May), Toy Story 4 (June), The Lion King (July), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (October), Lady & The Tramp (November), Frozen II (November) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (December). There were many more releases from Disney in 2019, but these were their large focuses – these movies combined made over $4 Billion in revenue. Avengers: End Game was responsible for $2Billion of that total.
We might be saying that we are tired to seeing re-makes and re-boots of old, beloved content, but the numbers don’t lie. Disney is making a substantial profit off of these films, and there are more on the way.
Here’s a glimpse of what Disney has slated for Production:
1. 101 Dalmatians/Cruella (Post-Production)
Cruella is a re-imagination of the beloved Disney Film, 101 Dalmatians, is actually a prequel spin-off focusing on the origins of one of the most notorious dog-hating bandits, Cruella de Vil. The film is slated for a March 2021 release, prior to COVID impact, and is starring Emma Stone in the titular role. No other official details have been released regarding the plot, but it is rumored to take place in 1980s in the punk-fashion industry where we see how Cruella became to be. This will most likely follow a similar plot line as Maleficent.
Casting: Other notable actors attached to the project are Emma Thompson, Mark Strong and Paul Walter-Hauser
2. The Little Mermaid (Pre-Production)
You might remember The Little Mermaid made news back in 2019 for its casting of the Ariel and the rumored casting of Harry Styles as Prince Eric. Sadly, he denied his involvement in the project….tragic. The Live Action Re-Make is slated to follow the same storyline as the 1989 Classic. TBD on timeline due to shooting constraints, but I would expect we see this in late 2021 or early 2022. Lin-Manuel Miranda is signed on to produce and write the music for the re-make, he has previously worked on Disney’s Moana (2016).
Casting: So far, the following actors have been attached to the project: Halle Bailey (Ariel) Daveed Diggs (Sebastian), Melissa McCarthy (Ursula), Awkwafina (Skuttle), Jacob Trembley (Flounder) and new-comer Jonah Hauer-King (Prine Eric)
3. Hercules (In-Development)
The newest addition to the Disney Live-Action Re-Make Family is Hercules. This project was announced just a month ago by Disney. Perhaps, one of the most attempted re-makes in the Disney History (following Cinderella), Hercules has had various versions appear across the screen starring Kellan Lutz and even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson apprising the lead role. The difference between these and the newly slated Hercules? Disney is producing, so hopefully, we can expect the same songs and magic that has been associated with the 1997 original.
The Russo Brothers responsible for Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame are attached to the project.
Casting: Nothing official announced yet but we can expect that Danny DeVito will reprise his role as Phil. Also, might I suggest Lizzo in the role of the Lead Muse and Ariana Grande as Meg? Please and thank you.
4. Bambi (In-Development)
Announced at the beginning of 2020, Bambi is also slated for a re-make. Not really sure why, this might be one of the most depressing Disney Movies ever-created? The film is slated to use the same-sort of CGI that was used to create the Jungle Book and The Lion King.
Official Statement from Variety after they released the announcement:
So, that’s the end of that long list. These are all the official announcements that have been confirmed by Disney with expected timelines. Other Live-Action Re-Makes that are rumored to be on the way: Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pinocchio, Peter and Wendy (Re-Imagining of Peter Pan), and Lilo & Stitch.
Even though we say we are sick of these re-makes and are looking for more original content, can’t we admit that we will most likely be viewing these Disney properties in some way? Yeah, we can.
And that’s the sitch.
Comments