It’s been a long road to release for Disney’s upcoming Mulan remake, which is one of the bigger films of the year to have had its theatrical premiere delayed thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Originally supposed to be with us on March 27th, the film was quickly pushed back once the lockdowns began and almost as soon as the first delay hit, Disney Plus came up as a possible option for where to premiere it. This became increasingly likely as the months went on, too, as it became clear that theaters wouldn’t be reopening in any sort of normal capacity for a while.
Now, with things still looking pretty grim out there, the Mouse House has announced that yes, Mulan will indeed be skipping cinemas and making its premiere on Disney Plus this September 4th. Or more specifically, it’ll premiere on the streaming service in U.S., Canada, New Zealand and more. As Deadline explains:
Mulan be releasing theatrically in certain markets where the studio currently has no announced launch plans for Disney+ and where theaters are open (i.e. China). CEO Bob Chepak said it was important to find new avenues of distribution during the pandemic and that in “in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and number of countries, we will be offering on Disney+, the epic Mulan on a premiere access beginning Sept. 4, the price point being $29.99 in the U.S.”
So, as you can see, it won’t exactly be as easy as firing up Disney Plus and clicking on Mulan to watch it, as there will be an additional fee associated with it. And frankly, that’s perfectly understandable. After all, the studio needs some way to make money here, as the live-action remake was incredibly expensive to produce. And even now, they’re probably going to take a hit on the project.
As for availability, like Deadline says, Mulan will be showing in cinemas where Disney Plus isn’t available, like China. For most of us, though, it seems the aforementioned streaming service will be the place to go to watch it. And given that this sort of release plan for a major blockbuster is pretty much unheard of, it’ll be fascinating to see how it all works out in the end.
Tell us, though, will you be catching Mulan on Disney Plus when it premieres in September? As always, let us know down below.