Coronavirus halts Disney+ Captain America / Avengers spinoff series
Superheroes from a pair of billion- dollar movie franchises now in retreat
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger is reportedly stepping down from his role immediately and has named Bob Chapek as the new CEO.
The Captain America spinoff series, "The Falcon & Winter Solider" slated to premiere on the new Disney+ streaming service in August has met a foe that no Marvel superhero has ever had to deal with before: the coronavirus.
DISNEY'S SEVEN $1 BILLION MOVIES KEEP ITS KINGDOM MAGICAL
The two title characters/sidekicks of Captain America seen in "The Winter Soldier," "First Avenger" and "Civil War" as well as the "Avengers" films started filming in Prague last week, according to Variety. However, Tuesday the series starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan packed up its wings and shield, respectively, following the Czech government's confirming 40 cases of the coronavirus. As a result, the government has placed a ban on movie screenings, elementary and high school classes, sports matches and cultural events. The Prague Film Festival has also been canceled.
The "Captain America" and "Avengers" films are two of the most successful and profitable movie franchises of all time. The three "Captain America" films that starred Chris Evans (who will not be part of the series) combined made $2.2 billion in global box office sales. The three "Avengers" movies made twice as much pulling in $4.9 billion.
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The cast and crew of “The Falcon and Winter Soldier” are returning to Atlanta where much of the filming of the series has taken place.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 115.07 | +5.95 | +5.45% |
The Prague shutdown marks the second time shooting has been interrupted. In January, "The Falcon & Winter Solider" was due to shoot in Puerto Rico but was forced to postpone after the commonwealth was hit by a series of earthquakes.
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The show is one of several limited series on Marvel is delivering to the new Disney+. Others are “Ms. Marvel,” “Hawkeye,” “Loki,” “She-Hulk,” “Moon Knight” and “WandaVision.”