Disney, Universal Shut Down Film Production Over Concern About The Novel Coronavirus

Disney, Universal Shut Down Film Production Over Concern About The Novel Coronavirus

Shutdowns continue to sweep film and television, as alongside TV producers like Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and the CW, Disney and Universal have suspended production on nearly all of their live-action films.

As reported by the Hollywood Reporter and Variety, both studios, representing a significant section of the big-budget film market, have shut down production on their live-action films. The shut down affects the full live-action production slate for Universal and Disney, with Jurassic World: Dominion, Flint Strong, and an untitled Billy Eichner comedy being shut down on the Universal side alongside a half dozen or so Disney productions. Those productions include The Little Mermaid, Shrunk, the recently announced newest film in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids series, the Disney Plus Home Alone reboot, and Peter Pan & Wendy. Shang-Chi had already been shut down earlier in the week as its director, Destin Daniel Cretton, self-isolated due to illness while awaiting the results of a test for covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus strain.

In a statement, a Disney spokesperson said, “While there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on our productions, after considering the current environment and the best interests of our cast and crew, we have made the decision to pause production on some of our live-action films for a short time.”

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The spokesperson added, “We will continue to assess the situation and restart as soon as feasible.”

The shutdowns come after news of major delays in the release calendar for the companies as well, with Disney pushing back Mulan and New Mutants, a movie that honestly at this point I’m concerned might be cursed. As of press time, Warner Bros. is continuing production on its current films, including The Matrix 4 and The Batman, though that could change at any time.