Disney has delayed the release of Mulan indefinitely following a surge of coronavirus cases in North America.

The live action remake of the 1998 animated film, starring Liu Yifei in the title role, was slated for release on 21 August .

This is the fourth delay for Mulan, which was on the verge of release on 27 March, and had held premieres, when the pandemic closed theatres around the world.

Disney then moved it to 24 July before switching to its most recent date of 21 August.

A Disney representative said: “Over the last few months, it’s become clear that nothing can be set in stone when it comes to how we release films during this global health crisis, and today that means pausing our release plans for Mulan as we assess how we can most effectively bring this film to audiences around the world.”

Read more: What to expect from Mulan

The Mulan delay is another bitter blow to the ailing cinema industry, following Warner Bros’ decision to push back Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated blockbuster Tenet.

Theatre owners had hoped both movies would entice customers back through the doors after months of lockdown.

While cinemas in England were allowed to reopen from 4 July – as long as social distancing guidelines were followed – the picture across North America is much more uncertain.

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New York City and Los Angeles, the two biggest markets in the US, have no concrete plans for reopening cinemas.