Sophia Michaels
With schools across the nation closed for weeks and families hunkered indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic, Disney+ announced Friday it would push up the streaming arrival of Frozen 2 by three months to bring “some fun and joy during this challenging period.”
While the 2019 sequel to the 2013 hit has been available to rent or purchase since February, Frozen 2 was originally scheduled to debut on Disney’s streaming service in June; it will now premiere on Disney+ in the U.S. beginning Sunday, March 15th.
“Frozen 2 has captivated audiences around the world through its powerful themes of perseverance and the importance of family, messages that are incredibly relevant during this time, and we are pleased to be able to share this heartwarming story early with our Disney+ subscribers to enjoy at home on any device,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said in a statement.
Disney delayed the theatrical release of their live-action version of Mulan Thursday due to the coronavirus pandemic; that film was scheduled to premiere March 27th in the U.S. The Walt Disney theme parks were also shut down through March due to coronavirus concerns.
On Friday, the same day Donald Trump declared a national emergency, Disney halted production on all of its in-production projects — including the live-action Little Mermaid, The Last Duel and its slate of Marvel films — due to the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak.
“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,” Disney said in a statement (via Variety). “We will continue to assess the situation and restart as soon as feasible.”
Featured via: Rollingstone
