Disney’s Mulan will premiere on Disney+

The Walt Disney Studios has announced that Disney’s Mulan, a live-action epic directed by Niki Caro, will not be released in cinemas. Instead, it will now debut on the Disney+ streaming service on 4th September 2020. However, you will have to pay $29.99 to watch it even if you already pay for the subscription. That is still cheaper than taking your whole family to the cinema to watch it.

The film’s release was previously delayed due to theater closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the release date kept getting pushed back. In markets where Disney Plus isn’t available, Mulan will play in cinemas.

In a call with investors, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek stressed that this is a “one-off” case of a major film debuting on the streaming service.

How do you feel about Mulan hitting Disney+? Should other films, such as Marvel’s Black Widow, also premiere on the streaming service?

Acclaimed filmmaker Niki Caro brings the epic tale of China’s legendary warrior to life in Disney’s “Mulan,” in which a fearless young woman risks everything out of love for her family and her country to become one of the greatest warriors China has ever known. 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. 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.

“While the pandemic has changed our release plans for ‘Mulan’ and we will continue to be flexible as conditions require, it has not changed our belief in the power of this film and its message of hope and perseverance. Director Niki Caro and our cast and crew have created a beautiful, epic, and moving film that is everything the cinematic experience should be, and that’s where we believe it belongs – on the world stage and the big screen for audiences around the globe to enjoy together,” said Alan Horn, Co-Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, and Alan Bergman, Co-Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios.

“We’re very pleased to be able to bring ‘Mulan’ to our consumer base that has been waiting for it for a long, long time as we’ve had to, unfortunately, move our theatrical date several times. We are looking at ‘Mulan’ as one-off as opposed to saying there is some new business windowing model that we are looking at,” Chapek said.

“That said, we find it very interesting to be able to take a new offering to consumers at that USD 29.99 price and learn from it and see what happens not only in terms of the uptick of the number of subscribers we got on the platform, but also the number of transactions we get on that PVOD offering.”

“Mulan” features a celebrated international cast that includes: Yifei Liu as Mulan; Donnie Yen as Commander Tung; Tzi Ma as Zhou, Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan; Yoson An as Honghui; Ron Yuan as Sergeant Qiang; with Gong Li as Xianniang and Jet Li as the Emperor. The film is directed by Niki Caro from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Lauren Hynek & Elizabeth Martin, suggested by the narrative poem “The Ballad of Mulan.” The producers are Chris Bender, Jake Weiner and Jason Reed, with Bill Kong, Barrie M. Osborne, Tim Coddington and Mario Iscovich serving as executive producers.

Source: Variety