Mulan Live Action Heading To Disney+

Disney have just dropped a bombshell that their much anticipated Mulan live action film is heading to Disney+ and will come with a hefty price.

Deadline are reporting the news comes from Disney’s Q3 earnings report which mentioned that the film will be released on 4th September. On the Disney+  with a $29.99 (£23 GBP) rental price!

This price will be on top of the subscription price be it £5.99 or £59.99. The news was dropped by their CEO Bob Chepak who said thy must look at new avenues of distribution during pandemic

“in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and number of countries, we will be offering on Disney+, the epic Mulan on a premiere access beginning Sept. 4, with the price point being $29.99 in the U.S.”

The big concern also is Piracy and that price will scare a lot of people off. With many countries still waiting for cinemas to open, those chains worldwide still to be open will now be worried about their own futures as Mulan would be a big box office pull.

The report does say the where Disney+ has not launched a theatrical release is still planned. As we know the UK does now have the streaming channel so we assume this film will get a release on the channel. Some cinema chains have been opened in the UK for nearly 4 weeks. The likes of Vue are expected to open this week in selected cinemas, could there still be  a UK Cinema release? Possibly as the report doesn’t state it won’t be, could it be a hybrid release like Netflix do for select releases?

This move might have some Disney/Marvel fans concerned this might be the future off delayed releases such as Black Widow. Chepak also stated “We’re pleased to bring Mulan to a consumer base that’s been waiting for it as we’ve had to move our (release) dates several times…We’re looking at Mulan as a one-off as opposed trying to say that there’s a new business windowing model.”

It looks like moving Mulan to Disney+ and PVOD many will see the film as a test subject to the future of film distribution. As for here in the UK and Ireland, until Disney UK confirm what format we’ll watch it, for now take this news as a cautious pinch of salt.