Disney announced on Monday morning that it will move the release dates for two of its upcoming animated films, Pixar’s “Soul” and Disney Animation’s “Raya and the Last Dragon,” in response to ongoing theater closures due to the coronavirus.
“Soul,” which was slated for release in June, will now be released on November 20. “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which was slated for release on Thanksgiving weekend, will now be moved to March 12, 2021, filling a slot held by an untitled Disney live action film that has now been removed from the schedule.
The move for “Soul” has long been expected as all other major releases for June have been moved back, including Warner Bros.’ “Wonder Woman 1984” and “In the Heights.” Movie theaters are not expected to open until July at the earliest, and the possibility remains that they could stay closed for even longer if the coronavirus continues to spread unchecked or if a new wave of infections comes after social distancing rules are relaxed.
For now, studios are keeping hope that theaters will be able to return to business sometime in late summer, as WB has kept the Christopher Nolan film “Tenet” on its original July 17 release date for now while Disney moved its “Mulan” remake,” which was originally set to release in late March, to a new release date on July 24.
Disney’s decision to shift “Soul” and “Raya” within release slots already set out echoes moves that it took last week with several other postponed films, most notably those from Marvel Studios. Scarlett Johansson’s Marvel movie “Black Widow,” previously dated for May 1, now moves to the November 6 slot previously held by the Angelina Jolie-led “Eternals.” That shift continued for the rest of the MCU’s release timeline, with “Eternals” moving to Feb. 12, 2021, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” to May 7, 2021, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” to November 5, 2021, and “Thor: Love And Thunder to Feb 18, 2022.
“Soul,” which is directed by two-time Oscar winner and Pixar creative head Pete Docter, follows a school music teacher whose soul is separated from his body, sending him on a cosmic journey to a world where all souls are created. Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad, Daveed Diggs and Angela Bassett lead the voice cast.
“Raya and the Last Dragon” is written by “Crazy Rich Asians” screenwriter Adele Lim and follows a young warrior in Southeast Asia named Raya, who is in search of a shapeshifting dragon (Awkwafina). Paul Briggs and Dean Wellins are directors.