Of late, Disney has been looking back at its many prestigious animated hits – such as Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin and reviving them as live-action productions (or in the case of the imminent The Lion King, a different, CGI approach). The next production will be a version of Mulan, the story of the young girl of the same name who is set for an arranged manner in Ancient China, but steps in when her ailing father, a respected warrior, is unable to fulfil the decree that each family should supply a soldier to fight for the country. Disguised as a boy, Hua Jun, she finds empowerment by defying expectations and finding a new way to show her honour.
The original film is often considered to be one of the key releases that moved Disney forward at a competitive timeand got excellent reviews. This new production boasts an international cast with some significant names involved: Yifei Liu as Mulan; Donnie Yen as Commander Tung; Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan; Yoson An as Cheng Honghui; with Gong Li as Xianniang and Jet Li as the Emperor. The film has been directed by Niki Caro from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver and Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek who took their inspiration from the original narrative poem The Ballad of Mulan.
Disney originally indicated that this would be a version without the original’s songs – and the trailer below doesn’t have any – but the company now appears to be saying that there will be at the very least recognisable instrumental moments from the animated version.
Mulan is released by Disney in March 2020.
