Disney has postponed the theatrical release of “Soul,” an existential animated adventure from Pixar, since cinemas are still closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The movie was originally set to open June 19 and will now debut Nov. 20, 2020.
The studio also announced Monday that “Raya and the Last Dragon,” an original fantasy film, has been pushed back from Nov. 25, 2020 until March 12, 2021. An untitled live-action film that was initially scheduled for that date has been removed from Disney’s schedule.
With scheduling shift for “Soul,” there isn’t a major movie set to open in theaters until the end of July. Last month, Disney shuffled the release calendar for most of its upcoming films — pushing “Mulan” to July 24, “Black Widow” on Nov. 7 and “The Eternals” in February of 2021.
By now, every studio has postponed tentpoles — a mounting list that includes Sony’s “Morbius” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” Warner Bros.’ “Wonder Woman 1984” and “In the Heights,” Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” and Universal’s “F9.”
“Soul,” directed by Pete Docter, centers on a middle school music teacher (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who dreams of being a jazz performer. But before he gets his big break, he gets in an accident that causes his soul to be separated from his body. He’s then transported to the “You Seminar” where he teams up with 22 (voiced by Tina Fey) to return Joe’s soul back to his body on Earth before it’s too late.
“Soul” was supposed to be the second Pixar title to debut this year following “Onward.” That film, featuring the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, hit the big screen just before movie theaters were forced to close due to the global health crisis. After a disappointing run on the big screen, “Onward” became one of many films to be released early on digital platforms.