Disney to ‘pause production’ on The Little Mermaid and more live-action films amid coronavirus fears

Disney announces they will ‘pause production’ on The Little Mermaid and more live-action films for ‘a short time’ amid growing coronavirus fears

Disney will temporarily ‘pause production’ on a slew of its live-action films as a result of the growing coronavirus threat.

‘We have made the decision to pause production on some of our live-action films for a short time,’ announced a Disney representative in a statement released Friday.

Although ‘there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19’ on Disney sets, the halt comes as a result of the company ‘considering the current environment and the best interests’ of cast and crew.

Projects currently suspended include the live-action The Little Mermaid. 

On pause: Disney will temporarily 'pause production' on a slew of its live-action films, including the live action The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey (right), as a result of the growing coronavirus threat

On pause: Disney will temporarily ‘pause production’ on a slew of its live-action films, including the live action The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey (right), as a result of the growing coronavirus threat

The rep confirmed that Disney will ‘continue to assess the situation and restart as soon as feasible.’ 

Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid, which was scheduled to being production next week, will be one of the many films affected by the sudden production suspension. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Peter Pan & Wendy and Shrunk, the Honey I Shrunk The Kids sequel, ‘both in pre-production’ will be delayed.

Disney films currently in production, like Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel and Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, will shut down until further notice.  

Disney already delayed the release date for the highly anticipated live action Mulan film, which had been scheduled to hit theaters on March 27.

Delayed: Disney already delayed the release date for the highly anticipated live action Mulan film, which had been scheduled to hit theaters on March 27

Delayed: Disney already delayed the release date for the highly anticipated live action Mulan film, which had been scheduled to hit theaters on March 27

The film’s director, Niki Caro, took to Instagram on Thursday to address the postponement.

‘We are so excited to share this film with the world, but given the current ever-shifting circumstances we are all experiencing, unfortunately, we have to postpone the worldwide release of,’ captioned Caro, who shared a photograph of one of the many Mulan promotional photos plastered around Los Angeles.  

Disney has yet to set a new release date for the film. 

Emptiest place on earth: The Walt Disney company made a landmark decision on Thursday by announcing the temporary closure of their parks in California and Florida, expected to last through March

Emptiest place on earth: The Walt Disney company made a landmark decision on Thursday by announcing the temporary closure of their parks in California and Florida, expected to last through March

The Walt Disney company made a landmark decision on Thursday by announcing the temporary closure of their parks in California and Florida, expected to last through March.

President Donald Trump addressed the nation during a press conference Friday morning where he officially declared coronavirus a ‘national emergency.’

The declaration will allow Trump to access $50million in emergency funds and unveil ‘drive-thru testing’ for the virus at Walmart, Target, and CVS parking lots across the nation. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk