The next live-action adaptation on Disney’s agenda is the Chinese fantasy epic Mulan. The movie follows Mulan as she joins the Imperial Army in order to save her ailing father from having to serve. Disguising herself as a man, Mulan becomes a hero during a battle with Northern Invaders in China.
Starring actress Yifei Liu as Mulan, the movie’s director Niki Caro has recently offered up some details on the grueling audition that Yifei was put through in order to win the role, and why such extreme measures were taken.
“Because I needed a warrior, and I needed a partner. So she did this grueling audition and then we sent her straight to the physical trainer to do an equally grueling physical assessment. Weights, push-ups, pull-ups, everything. She was brilliant in the dramatic part of the audition, and in the physical part she never stopped, never faulted. I knew at the end of that day that I’d found my warrior.”
Wow, talk about having to fight for the part. Thankfully Yifei’s remarkable efforts worked out, but this just goes to show the effort some actors have to go through in order to emerge victoriously. The physical assessment sounds rather similar to the training montage the soldiers are put through in the animated version of Mulan, so perhaps there was some method to this madness.
Auditions for big, tentpole movies such as Mulan can be infamously long, particularly when studios are casting relatively unknown actors in lead roles. No doubt Liu Yifei was thankful that there will be no musical numbers in the upcoming Mulan, as they may well have had her belting out songs whilst doing press-ups, or perhaps practicing a dance sequence whilst dodging spears and arrows.
Niki Caro then went on to heap praise on the movie’s star, saying that Yifei was able to lead the cast of Mulan by example, not unlike the character.
“She set the bar so high on set. She was so much tougher than any of the boys surrounding her. They were terrified of her strength.”
Well, it sounds like Yifei is the perfect choice to bring the Disney warrior to life on the big screen. She clearly worked extremely hard just to land the role, and by the sounds of it, she continued that determination into her performance. Trailers for the movie have given us a glimpse of the battle sequences, and Yifei certainly has many opportunities to put that determination and physical training to good use.
Alongside Liu Yifei, Mulan stars Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Gong Li, and Jet Li in supporting roles. It was announced recently that it will be the first live-action Disney remake to get a rating of PG-13. The movie is all set to his theaters on March 27th, 2020. This comes to us courtesy of Empire.
