The theatrical debut of Showgate and Bandai Namco’s Princess Principal: Crown Handler has been postponed in Japan due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus pandemic, or COVID-19. The announcement about the delay was made via a tweet on April 2nd, 2020.
Originally the film was supposed to debut in Japan at theaters on Friday, April 10th, 2020, but not the theatrical debut is up in the air.
The tweet was picked up by Anime Intelligence and Research, who translated the message of fans of the series, informing them that the premiere will not be taking place as originally scheduled.
The first “Princess Principal: Crown Handler” anime film’s theatrical opening has been postponed to prevent further spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The new premiere date will be announced once it has been decided.https://t.co/1vA6Dl848U pic.twitter.com/4M8M5g3VPs
— A.I.R (Anime Intelligence (and) Research) (@AIR_News01) April 2, 2020
But it’s not just the premiere that’s been affected, merchandising is being impacted, too.
According to a post over on the official Princess Principal website, they stated that the Dash Store would be temporarily closed for two days between April 11th and April 12th.
They mentioned that this is to prevent further spread of the coronavirus, but also noted that the store would reopen on Monday, April 13th, 2020.
I’m not entirely sure why two days in particular would change the spread rate, but that’s what they decided to do.
Interestingly enough, the postponement of the movie is also affecting the one-time special that was supposed to air on Sunday, April 5th. According to a separate news post on the site, the episode will not air on the fifth but instead will be canceled.
No new date has been set yet for the theatrical release, but they note to stay tuned in to their official channels.
(Thanks for the news tip Guardian EvaUnit02)
