Mulan (2020 film)

Mulan is an upcoming 2020 American war drama 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 the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, released 22 years after Disney's 1998 animated film of the same name. The film stars Liu Yifei as the eponymous character, alongside Donnie Yen, Gong Li, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Tzi Ma, and Jet Li in supporting roles.

The film is scheduled to be released on March 27, 2020.

Cast

 * Liu Yifei as Hua Mulan: the daughter of Hua Zhou who disregards both tradition and the law by disguising herself as a man in order to enlist herself in the Imperial Army in place of her ailing father.
 * Donnie Yen as Commander Tung: a mentor and teacher to Mulan. He leads the Imperial Regiment.
 * Yoson An as Chen Honghui: a confident and ambitious recruit who joins Commander Tung's unit. Initially a rival of Mulan, he eventually becomes her ally and love interest. The character replaces Li Shang from the original animated film.
 * Gong Li as Xian Lang: a powerful and malevolent witch who allies with Bori Khan. She is a new character who did not appear in the original 1998 animated film.
 * Jason Scott Lee as Bori Khan: a Hun warrior leader allied with Xian Lang, who is intent on avenging his father's death. The character replaces Shan Yu from the original animated film.
 * Tzi Ma as Hua Zhou: Mulan’s father and a famed war veteran, who is now recalled to the Imperial Army despite his frail health.
 * Jet Li as The Emperor: a benevolent ruler of China who orders the mobilization of troops via the conscription of one male from each household to fight the Hun army.
 * Ron Yuan as Sergeant Qiang: the loyal, second-in-command of the Imperial Regiment.
 * Jimmy Wong as Ling: a soldier in Commander Tung’s unit.
 * Doua Moua as Po: a soldier in Commander Tung’s unit.
 * Chen Tang as Yao: a soldier in Commander Tung’s unit.
 * Xana Tang as Hua Xiu: Mulan’s sister. She is a new character who did not appear in the original 1998 animated film.
 * Utkarsh Ambudkar as Skatch: a con artist and friend of Ramtish.
 * Chum Ehelepola as Ramtish: a con artist and friend of Skatch.

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

Development
Walt Disney Pictures expressed interest in a live-action 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 cancelled. 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. 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. Since the original script featured non-Chinese characters and an addition of a white male lead, which received widespread criticism for its perceived whitewashing and its use of white savior narrative, 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 to be joining as an executive producer.

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. On October 4, 2016, Disney announced that a global search for a Chinese actress to portray the title role was underway. 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. On November 29, 2017, Chinese American actress Liu Yifei was cast in the film to portray the titular role of Mulan. Many celebrated this as a win for diversity in Disney films. Further cast announcements for Donnie Yen, Gong Li, Jet Li, and Xana Tang were made in April 2018, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Ron Yuan in May, Yoson An and Chum Ehelepola in June, Jason Scott Lee in July, Tzi Ma, Rosalind Chao, Cheng Pei-Pei, Nelson Lee, Jimmy Wong and Doua Moua in August, and Chen Tang in September.

Director
Disney originally sought an Asian director. Disney first considered Ang Lee, Taiwanese film director and two-time Academy Award winner for Best Director. The Hollywood Reporter mentioned that Lee was approached but declined on October 12, 2016. According to the report by The Hollywood Reporter, published on November 22, 2016, he said that he would like to see an Asian director leading the film. But he had to decline because he was still obliged to promote Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, a film which Lee directed. Next, Disney met with Jiang Wen for the position; finally on February 14, 2017, Niki Caro was hired as the director of the film, which made Mulan the second Disney movie with a female director and a budget above $100 million.

Filming
Principal photography began on August 13, 2018, at different locations in New Zealand and China and wrapped on November 25, 2018.

Release
Mulan is scheduled to be released on March 27, 2020. Originally, it had been set for a November 2, 2018, release, and then was pushed back, with The Nutcracker and the Four Realms taking its old slot.