Mulan (2020 film)

Mulan
Directed by Niki Caro
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based on
Starring
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams[1]
Cinematography Mandy Walker
Edited by David Coulson
Production
company
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Release date
  • March 27, 2020 (2020-03-27) (United States)
Country United States
Language English
Budget $290 million[2]

Mulan is an upcoming American war drama adventure film directed by Niki Caro with the screenplay by Elizabeth Martin, Lauren Hynek, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1998 animated film of the same name, itself an adaptation of the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan. The film stars Liu Yifei as the eponymous character. It is set to be released on March 27, 2020.[3]

Cast

  • Liu Yifei as Fa Mulan, the daughter of an aging war veteran who disregards both tradition and the law by disguising herself as a man in order to enlist herself in the Imperial Regiment in place of her ailing father.[4]
  • Yoson An as Chen Honghui, a confident and ambitious recruit who joins Commander Tung's unit. He becomes Mulan's most important ally and eventual love interest.
  • Jason Scott Lee as Bori Khan, a Hun warrior leader allied with a powerful witch, who is intent on avenging his father's death.
  • Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, a mentor and teacher to Mulan. He leads a unit in the Imperial Regiment.
  • Gong Li as a powerful witch.
  • Ron Yuan as Sergeant Qiang, the loyal, second-in-command of the Imperial Regiment.
  • Jet Li as the Emperor of China, a benevolent ruler of China who orders the mobilization of troops via the conscription of one male from each household to fight Bori Khan's army.
  • Jimmy Wong as Ling, a soldier in Commander Tung’s unit.
  • Doua Moua as Chien-Po, a soldier in Commander Tung’s unit.
  • Chen Tang as Yao, a soldier in Commander Tung’s unit.
  • Utkarsh Ambudkar as Skath, a con artist and friend of Ramtish.
  • Chum Ehelepola as Ramtish, a con artist and friend of Skath.
  • Xana Tang as Mulan's sister

Additionally Tzi Ma, Rosalind Chao, Cheng Pei-pei, and Nelson Lee appear in undisclosed roles. Mushu, the character from the original film, will reportedly also appear in the film.[5]

Production

Development

Walt Disney Pictures expressed interest in a live-action and 3D adaptation of Mulan starring international star Zhang Ziyi, with Chuck Russell chosen as the director. The film was originally planned to start filming on October 2010, but was canceled.[6] On March 30, 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney was developing a live-action adaptation of 1998 animated film Mulan with Chris Bender and J.C. Spink producing while Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek would be writing the screenplay.[7] On October 4, 2016, it was announced that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver would rewrite the script, combining the Chinese ballad and the 1998 animated film, while Jason Reed would be producing the film along with Chris Bender and Jake Weiner.[8] Since the original script featured non-Chinese characters, including a white male lead, which got some disagreements from the people, Disney promised that Mulan and all primary characters will remain Chinese in the new script which Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver rewrote. In February 2017, Bill Kong was reported joining as an executive producer.[9]

Casting

Since several recent Hollywood films were accused of whitewashing, Mulan has been under intense scrutiny since The Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney is making a live-action retelling of Mulan. An online petition titled "Tell Disney You Don't Want A Whitewashed Mulan!" received more than 100,000 signatures.[10] On October 4, 2016, Disney announced that a global search for a Chinese actress to portray the title role was underway.[11] On November 29, 2017, Chinese American actress Liu Yifei was cast in the film to portray the titular role of Mulan. A team of casting directors visited five continents and saw nearly 1,000 candidates for the role with criteria that required credible martial arts skills, the ability to speak clear English and, lastly, star quality.[12] Many celebrated this as a win for diversity in Disney films.[10] In April 2018, Donnie Yen, Gong Li, Jet Li, and Xana Tang joined the cast.[13][14] In May 2018, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Ron Yuan joined the cast.[15] In June 2018, Yoson An and Chum Ehelepola joined the cast.[16] In July 2018, Jason Scott Lee joined the cast.[17] In August 2018, Tzi Ma, Rosalind Chao, Cheng Pei-Pei, Nelson Lee, Jimmy Wong and Doua Moua joined the cast.[18][19] In September 2018, Chen Tang joined the cast.[20]

Director

Disney was trying to find an Asian director in the beginning. Disney first considered Ang Lee, Taiwanese film director, two times Academy Award winner for Best Director. The Hollywood Reporter mentioned that Lee was approached but passed on October 12, 2016.[21] According to the report by The Hollywood Reporter, published on November 22, 2016, he said that seeing an Asian director helming the film would be great. But he had to pass because he was still obliged to promote Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, a film which Lee helmed.[22] After Lee passed, Disney met with Jiang Wen before, on February 14, 2017, Niki Caro was hired as the director of the film, which made Mulan the second Disney movie helmed by a female director with budget over $100 million.[9]

Filming

Principal production commenced on August 13, 2018 at different locations in New Zealand and China.[23][18]

Release

Mulan is scheduled to be released on March 27, 2020.[24] Previously, it was set for an November 2, 2018 release before being pushed to an undetermined date.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Harry Gregson-Williams to Score Disney's 'Mulan' Live-Action Movie". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved 24 Aug 2018.
  2. ↑ "Exclusive: Disney Goes Big With $290M Plus Budget For 'Mulan' Reboot". Pursue News. May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Live-Action 'Mulan' Pushed Back More Than a Year to Spring 2020". The Hollywood Reporter. March 1, 2018.
  4. ↑ Studio, Disney (August 14, 2018). "First Official Picture - Disney Instagram". Disney Studio. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  5. ↑ https://thedisinsider.com/2018/09/06/exclusive-disneys-mulan-remake-to-feature-music-mushu-to-appear/
  6. ↑ "Zhang Ziyi to produce and star in 3D Mulan film". Channel NewsAsia. July 28, 2010. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013.
  7. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (March 30, 2015). "Disney Developing Live-Action 'Mulan' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  8. ↑ Kroll, Justin (October 4, 2016). "Disney's Live-Action 'Mulan' to Hit Theaters in November 2018; Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver Rewriting". Variety. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Disney's Live-Action 'Mulan' Finds Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Mulan: Disney casts Chinese actress Liu Yifei in lead role". BBC. November 30, 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Disney's Live-Action 'Mulan' Gets Winter 2018 Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. October 4, 2016.
  12. ↑ Sun, Rebecca; Ford, Rebecca (November 29, 2017). "Disney's 'Mulan' Finds Its Star (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  13. ↑ Jr, Mike Fleming (April 11, 2018). "Donnie Yen To Star In Disney's Live Action 'Mulan'". Deadline. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  14. ↑ Sun, Rebecca (April 12, 2018). "Disney's Live-Action 'Mulan' Lands Gong Li, Jet Li (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  15. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (May 23, 2018). "'Mulan': Utkarsh Ambudkar & Ron Yuan Added To Disney's Live-Action Adaptation". Deadline. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  16. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (June 6, 2018). "Disney Casts 'Mulan' Love Interest (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Disney's 'Mulan' Adds Jason Scott Lee". The Hollywood Reporter. July 25, 2018.
  18. 1 2 ‘Mulan’ Rounds Out Cast As Filming Underway On Live-Action Movie
  19. ↑ Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Casts Jimmy Wong & Doua Moua
  20. ↑ Adrian Martinez Joins Disney’s ‘Lady and the Tramp’; ‘Mulan’ Adds Chen Tang
  21. ↑ "'Mulan' Mania: Disney, Sony Hunt for Asian Directors to Helm Rival Action Pics". The Hollywood Reporter. October 12, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Ang Lee on Disney's Live-Action 'Mulan': "It'd Be Great to See an Asian" Director". The Hollywood Reporter. November 22, 2016.
  23. ↑ Marc, Christopher (April 12, 2018). "UPDATE: Disney To Begin Shooting 'Mulan' This August In New Zealand and China - Omega Underground". omegaunderground.com. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  24. ↑ Khatchatourian, Maane (March 1, 2018). "'Mulan' Live-Action Reboot Pushed Back to 2020". Variety. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
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