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Coronavirus: Which films and TV shows have been cancelled or delayed? From Black Widow to EastEnders

Full list of everything affected by global pandemic

Jacob Stolworthy
Wednesday 18 March 2020 11:10 GMT
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With the coronavirus continuing to spread globally, numerous events from the world of film and television are being postponed or cancelled entirely.

The World Health Organisation is officially on “the highest level of alert” and has deemed the outbreak a global pandemic.

With this in mind, many high-profile film studios are reshaping schedules of imminent releases in costly moves, considering many films have already begun their campaigns.

The same goes for television productions – a flurry of shows in the US are shutting down entirely.

Here is a full list of everything that’s been cancelled or postponed in the wake of the coronavirus.

Film releases

17 March

Marvel has finally called off the release of Black Widow.

The UK release of controversial Second World War drama The Painted Bird has been delayed.

12 March

Disney has announced it has postponed the releases of Mulan, The New Mutants and horror film Antlers, which it acquired from Fox, indefinitely.

In the biggest delay yet, Universal Pictures shifted Fast & Furious 9‘s release date from May 2020 to April 2021, despite launching the film’s trailer with an expensive Super Bowl campaign earlier this year.

John Krasinski announced he was postponing Paramount Pictures’ A Quiet Place II in the wake of the pandemic – just one week before his sequel was due to be released.

Paramount Pictures is also delaying comedy The Lovebirds, starring Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae, indefinitely.

The release date of Hirokazu Kore-eda film The Truth has been pushed from March to the summer.

10 March

The release of Peter Rabbit 2 has been delayed until August. Initially set for release in the UK in March, the film has been pushed back in an attempt to attract a larger audience.​

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4 March

Daniel Craig’s final Bond outing No Time to Die, which was originally set to be released globally on 1 April, has been pushed back to November. It’s a huge decision from MGM considering much of the film’s publicity had already been completed. The decision will reportedly cost the studio $50m (£39.7m).

17 March

James Cameron has halted production of his four Avatar sequels.

Netflix is doing a “deep clean” on the set of The Witcher after new cast member Kristofer Hivju tested positive for coronavirus.

16 March

British shows Peaky Blinders and Line of Duty have halted production.

The Matrix 4 has shut down production in Berlin.

Sony’s adaptation of video game Uncharted, starring Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland, has been put on hold for six weeks.

13 March

After planning to relocate production from London to Liverpool, Warner Bros has instead closed down the shoot of Matt Reeves’ The Batman for two weeks.

Universal has halted work on Jurassic World: Dominion.

Disney has halted work on its live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

Netflix has halted production on every single scripted film in US and Canada, including Ryan Murphy film The Prom, which stars Meryl Streep.

Marvel has halted production on new film Shang-Chi while director Destin Daniel Cretton, who is in self-isolation, awaits his test results for coronavirus.

New Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz comedy Official Competition has shut down production in Spain amid the pandemic.

12 March

Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Elvis Presley biopic, starring Austin Butler as the rock’n’roll musician, has halted its production in Australia after Tom Hanks – who is playing his manager Colonel Tom Parker – was tested positive for coronavirus.

25 February

Production​ on Mission: Impossible 7 was shut down in Italy after the outbreak reached several cities and provinces.

15 February

Wong Kar-wai’s Blossoms, a sequel-of-sorts to In the Mood for Love, has been put on hold due to the coronavirus.

TV shows

24 March

ITV cancels the live finals of Britain's Got Talent indefinitely.

22 March

ITV suspends production on soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale as well as daytime show Loose Women.

18 March

BBC has halted all production on its continuing dramas meaning filming has stopped on EastEnders, Casualty, Doctors, Holby City, Pobol y Cwm and River City.

This means that EastEnders will now only be shown twice a week.

ITV talk show Loose Women goes live without a studio audience for first time in its history.​

16 March

CBS announces production on SWAT has shut down meaning the finale will not be completed in time

14 March

The latest shows to have had their production halted include Supernatural, Empire, Pose, Queen of the South and American Housewife.

13 March

Marvel closes down WandaVision and Loki.

Netflix has halted production on every single scripted show in US and Canada, including Stranger Things season 4.

US chat show hosts are announcing their shows are to be taken off air now that Trump has declared a “national emergency” over coronavirus. Jimmy Kimmel Live, Real Time with Bill Maher, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver are “going dark” indefinitely.

Pre-production on AMC’s The Walking Dead season 11 has been halted in Atlanta, while the production of its spin-off show, Fear the Walking Dead, has also been delayed by the pandemic.

FX shows Atlanta, Fargo, Snowfall and Y: The Last Man have all been shut down in the wake of the outbreak.

WarnerMedia Entertainment, which encompasses HBO, has announced it is halting production on many shows, including The Righteous Gemstones and the second season of Euphoria.

Superhero show The Flash has stopped its production.

All Apple TV+ shows, including See, For All Mankind, Mythic Quest and Servant, have shut down production.

Sony Pictures TV has announced the shut down of three productions: The Blacklist, Wheel of Fortune and The Mel Robbins Show.

13 March

NBCUniversal has shut down production on 35 of its shows amid coronavirus fears, including Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med, New Amsterdam and Law & Order: SVU.

12 March

Netflix has halted filming of Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin comedy series Grace and Frankie.

ABC has shut down production on Grey’s Anatomy with the show’s executive producers deciding to assess the aituation in two weeks.

After filming episodes without an audience, US chat shows The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Wendy Williams Show have suspended production altogether.

The second season of The Morning Show has officially halted production, Apple announced.

Production on the season two of Netflix show Russian Doll, starring Natasha Lyonne, has been halted alongside Universal’s Apple show Little America and Rutherford Falls, which will drop on new streaming service peacock.

BBC One show Celebrity Race Across The World, which was set to begin filming in April, has delayed production.

11 March

Disney+ show The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has been hit by the coronavirus following production’s arrival in Prague. Actor Sebastian Stan, who plays Marvel character Bucky Barnes, revealed on Instagram that the shoot has now been closed down.

Warner Bros has suspended production on Riverdale after it was reported a “team member” had recently been in contact with a person who had tested positive for coronavirus.

Survivor season 41 (yes, really) has been postponed until May, which is also when season 42 was set to commence production.

6 March

ITV soap Coronation Street is having to have scenes rewritten after an unidentified member of the cast was forced to go into self-isolation having visited an affected area.

ITV has pulled Phillip Schofield’s How to Spend It Well on Holiday. A spokesperson told Metro: “To reflect the latest situation on travelling abroad at this time, this series has been postponed for now and will be screened later in the year”.

29 February

CBS series The Amazing Race halted production on its 33rd season following the outbreak.

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