Disney has paused production on several of its live-action films, as well as several 20th Century Studios titles, including Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Shrunk,” the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” sequel.
Other affected productions include Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings,” the “Home Alone” reboot, Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” and the live-action “Peter Pan & Wendy.”
“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. We will continue to assess the situation and restart as soon as feasible,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
“The Last Duel” was scheduled to shoot in Ireland after already completing 4 1/2 weeks of shooting. “Peter Pan & Wendy” and “Shrunk” are currently in pre-production. News broke last night that production on “Shang-Chi” would be delayed after TheWrap reported that director Destin Daniel Cretton had been tested for coronavirus and was self-isolating. “The Little Mermaid” was meant to begin shooting in London next week.
“The Last Duel” stars Adam Driver, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Jodie Comer and is the latest film from Ridley Scott based on a screenplay that reunited Damon and Affleck. It’s slated for a Jan. 8, 2021 release date.
The untitled “Home Alone” reboot is being directed by Dan Mazer based on a script by “SNL” writers Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell.
“Shang-Chi” is scheduled to open on Feb. 12, 2021 and stars Simu Liu as a half-Chinese, half-American martial arts master. Awkwafina and Tony Leung also co-star in the superhero film.
“The Little Mermaid” reboot is directed by Rob Marshall and stars Halle Bailey as Ariel alongside Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.
“Nightmare Alley” is under the Searchlight Pictures division and is the latest film from director Guillermo del Toro. It’s a period drama that stars Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Mary Steenbugen, Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins and Ron Perlman.
“Shrunk” is directed by Joe Johnston (“The Rocketeer”) and marks Rick Moranis’ return to film after relative retirement. Josh Gad also stars in the film.
And finally, “Peter Pan & Wendy” is another live-action update on a Disney classic that will be directed by David Lowery.
According to CNN, coronavirus cases have topped over 125,000 incidents globally, and the CDC this week declared coronavirus a pandemic.