Another year. another Disney live-action remake. This time, the adaptation shuffle has wound up on Mulan, and in its first trailer, it’s clear that this one is going in a different direction than its animated original:
Right off the bat, Mulan stakes its claim as a more serious historical drama than the musical dramedy that 1998 film was. There are more battle scenes, sweeping shots of the Chinese countryside, and of course, no singing. Mulan has a sister now, and the invading Huns have a witch named Xian Lang on their side, played by Gong Li. And while we don’t have Li Shang, we do get Chen Honghui, played by Yoson An, as Mulan’s friend and love interest. And no, there’s no Eddit Murphy-type character, and instead of a great dragon, we get a phoenix, so take that as you will.
There has been some controversy around the film after its star, Liu Yifei, came out on Twitter in support of the Hong Kong police during the pro-democracy protests taking place there. People even called for a boycott of the film in protest. Whether these will have an effect on Mulan‘s box office numbers is anyone’s guess.
Mulan will premiere in theaters on March 27, 2020.
