Disney’s live-action reimaginings of their classic animated tales show no sign of stopping anytime soon and now, with Aladdin and The Lion King having made megabucks at the box office this year, we’ve got another look at the next one – a cinematic update of 1998 toon, Mulan.
Based on a Chinese legend, the film follows the story of the titular hero – a young woman who poses as a man in order to take her ailing father’s place in the Imperial army, after the threat of the invading Huns requires a man from every house to sign up for compulsory military service.
The lead role will be played by Liu Yifei, a popular talent in Chinese film and TV, while Disney has lured some big-name support in the form of Jet Li, Donnie Yen and Gong Li. In a departure from the original, the latter will be playing a new villain – a powerful and malevolent witch named Xianniang.
You can watch the new trailer below…
And here’s the film’s first trailer…
With both trailers teasing some epic-looking battle scenes, it seems like this will be a more dramatic take on the material, with the original’s musical numbers reportedly having been nixed. There’s a brief glimpse in the new trailer of Mulan’s chirpy dragon sidekick Mushu (voiced in the animation by Eddie Murphy), but there’s still no sign of her “lucky” cricket, Cri-Kee, although he will apparently feature in the film in some form.
The film is directed by Kiwi helmer Niki Caro (Whale Rider), and the official synopsis promises “an epic journey that will transform [Mulan] into an honoured warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father.”
Mulan opens in UK cinemas on 27 March 2020.
