Coronavirus forces Disney to stop all production on live-action films

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the world into a frenzy, it seems not even Disney is immune from the crisis.

Disney has been forced to halt all production on its live action films due to the growing COVID-19 concerns.

Work on Marvel's Shang-Chi, The Little Mermaid, Home Alone, Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley, Peter Pan & Wendy, the new Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movie, and Ridley Scott's The Last Duel has ground to a halt.

In an official statement, the studio said production will be shut down for "a short time," though it remains unclear if or when work on the projects will resume.

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Their statement reads: “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.”

Disney has also postponed the release of the highly anticipated live-action movie Mulan , which was due to hit cinemas on March 27.

In a shattering week for Disney, bosses announced they would be shutting down Walt Disney World in Florida, Disneyland Paris and Disneyland in California at the end of the day on Sunday, after three cast members tested positive for COVID-19 in Paris.

Their hotels will remain open until further notice.

Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure will close on Saturday until the end of the month, while hotels will remain open until Monday while guests organise travel arrangement.

As of Saturday Disney Cruise Line will also suspending departures, and it’s parks in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo have also closed.

Cast members working at the closed parks will be paid regardless, the Walt Disney Company has said.

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