Marvel remakes release calendar; ‘Mulan’ moves to late July

NEW YORK » The Walt Disney Co. overhauled its release schedule by moving the dates of half a dozen Marvel movies, announcing a new one for the live-action adaptation of “Mulan” and pushing one movie, “Artemis Fowl,” to Disney Plus, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Black Widow,” the Marvel entry starring Scarlett Johansson, had been set to kick off the summer movie season. Instead, Disney said it will now open Nov. 6. Such delays have unique ramifications for Marvel movies because of their interconnection. With “Black Widow” on the move, that meant a domino effect, pushing most upcoming Marvel releases back at least three months.

“Black Widow” took the release date of “The Eternals,” which now moves to Feb. 21 next year. “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” departs that February date for May 7, 2021. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” shifts from next May to Nov. 5, 2021. And “Thor: Love and Thunder” is pushed three months, to Feb. 18, 2022.

Disney isn’t abandoning the summer completely. “Mulan,” which been scheduled for March and already had its red carpet premiere, is set to open July 24. That release date, of course, is subject to movie theaters being reopened by then and the pandemic subsiding.

While Disney shifted nearly all of its bigbudget movies, it’s going to send one to its streaming service. The Kenneth Branaghdirected science fiction adventure adaptation “Artemis Fowl” will go to Disney Plus instead of opening in theaters. The movie had originally been slate for release last August but had been rescheduled for May of this year.