Mulan (Live-Action)

[disneyprincess11]

Our first look at Mulan is already here and it's coming out on March 27, 2020

https://twitter.com/DisneyStudios/statu ... 9026408450

[DisneyFan09]

Is that supposed to be her? If so, I'm not impressed with the photo, sorry.

[Kyle]

Photo looks fine to me. Still super bummed at all the changes though. I don't like that it barely resembles the animated one in terms of story and lack of songs.

[Sotiris]

Mulan's male persona is not even going to be named Ping anymore; it's going to be named Hua Jun.

Mulan tells the epic adventure of a fearless young woman who masquerades as a man in order to fight Northern Invaders attacking China. The eldest daughter of an honored warrior, Hua Mulan is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. When the Emperor issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army, she steps in to take the place of her ailing father as Hua Jun, becoming one of China’s greatest warriors ever.

Source: http://collider.com/mulan-first-image-live-action/

[Disney's Divinity]

I think Mulan looks fine and I don't care about the Ping change. I am disappointed by a lot of things so far, but I still feel moderately confident the movie will be more good than bad at least.

[Sotiris]

Four more actors have been cast in as-yet-undisclosed roles. Here's the breakdown of the characters so far.

Liu Yifei -> Hua Mulan/Hua Jun
Xana Tang -> Mulan's sister
Yoson An -> Chen Honghui: recruit, Mulan's love interest
Donnie Yen -> Commander Tung: Mulan's mentor
Ron Yuan -> Sergeant Qiang: second in command, loyal to Tung
Jet Li -> The Emperor of China
Gong Li -> powerful witch, villain
Jason Scott Lee -> Bori Khan: warrior leader, wants to avenge father's death, villain
Utkarsh Ambudkar -> Skath: a con artist
Chum Ehelepola -> Ramtish: partner of Skath
Chen Tang -> Yao
Jimmy Wong -> Ling
Doua Moua -> Po
Tzi Ma -> Mulan's father
Rosalind Chao -> Mulan's mother
Cheng Pei-Pei -> the Matchmaker
Nelson Lee -> the Chancellor

[Sotiris]

Is that supposed to be her? If so, I'm not impressed with the photo, sorry.

Perhaps it's because Disney tried to make her look more masculine. Just compare the Disney photo with the Mulan-style photoshoots the same actress did in the past (see here).

[Atlantica]

How will Disney cope with their brand synergy cross over stuff with this live action version ? It bares little / no resemblance to the animated counterpart at all. Can't do cute little instagram videos ( as they tend to ) with the iconography of both versions matching up / overlapping. Barely any names have even been retained have they, bar Mulan !

I'm not of the belief that if they do live action films they should be a shot by shot redo of the original, as you should always allow room for creative expression, but I also don't think it should be so far removed that is actually a different version altogether. So this ( to me ) reads as just a Mulan film, rather than 'the live action Disney's Mulan'.

Is there any further word on it being a musical at all ?

[Sotiris]

The director posted a behind-the-scenes photo on her Instagram account.


Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmcYjG2ApIs ... y=nikicaro

[Raf]

Maleficent only shared one scene with animated Sleeping Beauty, so what's the deal? It will be the same case here. It will be its own story, but for sure connecting to the animated one by various easter eggs, designs, clothes etc. We knew from beginning this movie is getting Maleficent treatment, not Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast one.

[DisneyFan09]

Perhaps it's because Disney tried to make her look more masculine. Just compare the Disney photo with the Mulan-style photoshoots the same actress did in the past (see here).

Fair enough, but the photo was generic.

Mulan's male persona is not even going to be named Ping anymore; it's going to be named Hua Jun.

Why ain't that a surprise?

[Sotiris]

The roles of Ling and Po have been cast but oddly not Yao.

Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Casts Jimmy Wong & Doua Moua
https://deadline.com/2018/08/disney-mul ... 202445269/

[JeanGreyForever]

With Shang gone, I'm surprised that they're bothering to keep Ling and Po. I'm assuming Po is Chien Po anyway.

[D82]

Thanks for the breakdown of characters and all the other info, Sotiris!

The roles of Ling and Po have been cast but oddly not Yao.

I guess they've merged them into two characters instead of three.

With Shang gone, I'm surprised that they're bothering to keep Ling and Po. I'm assuming Po is Chien Po anyway.

I didn't expect they would keep these characters either after all the story changes. I thought the Indian actors would replace them as the film's comic relief.

By the way, it seems director Niki Caro posted another picture from the set, but like the first one, it was later deleted: https://hype.my/2018/158190/shirtless-s ... -interest/

[JeanGreyForever]

I forgot about the Indian actors cast for this film.

The shirtless scene must be the new version of the bathing scene from the original film.

[Sotiris]

Harry Gregson-Williams to Score Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Live-Action Movie
http://filmmusicreporter.com/2018/08/22 ... ion-movie/

An interview with film composer Harry Gregson-Williams
http://www.classical-music.com/article/ ... n-williams

Harry Gregson-Williams on Scoring 'Mulan' And Why He Temporarily Banned the Disney Original In His Home
https://www.billboard.com/articles/news ... -interview

How Disney’s Live-Action ‘Mulan’ Score Honors the Old Songs While Adding New Themes
https://variety.com/2020/artisans/produ ... 234762765/

Inside Christina Aguilera’s Accidental Hit Song From ‘Mulan’
https://www.thewrap.com/loyal-brave-tru ... e-hartman/

Oscars Song Contenders on ‘Common Thread’ Through Their Songs: ‘A Need to Be Heard and Seen’
https://www.thewrap.com/oscars-song-con ... ngs-video/

Facebook Songwriters of The Day Discuss Penning “Loyal Brave True” for “Mulan”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/20 ... rue-mulan/

Composer Harry Gregson-Williams: The heart of ‘Mulan’ is the ’emotional arc’ of the beloved woman warrior
https://www.goldderby.com/article/2021/ ... interview/

‘Mulan’ Composer Harry Gregson-Williams on Scoring Disney’s Live Action Adaptation
https://www.awardsdaily.com/2021/01/07/ ... daptation/

Composer Harry Gregson-Williams On Crafting Oscar-Shortlisted Score & Song For Disney’s Live-Action “Reimagining” Of ‘Mulan’
https://deadline.com/2021/03/mulan-comp ... 234706657/

DP/30: Harry Gregson Williams, Mulan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY8meKB6nQY

[D82]

^I especially like his work for Narnia. I think he'll do a good job with the music.

[Sotiris]

We have learned from a source working on the project that the film will indeed feature some of the music from the 1998 animated classic. Earlier this year director Niki Caro was asked by Moviefone if the rumor that songs wouldn’t appear in the film is true and Caro’s response was “Yes, from what I understand, no songs right now, much to the horror of my children.” The film was originally expected to start production earlier this year, so it is not known if production was delayed due to working the music in. We also learned from the source that Mulan’s fire breathing sidekick Mushu will also appear in the film.

Source: https://thedisinsider.com/2018/09/06/ex ... to-appear/

[Kyle]

Well that gives me a tiny bit of hope for this. I wonder what songs will feature? I would assume reflection all and make a man out of you will be the top picks from fans to include, but will they dumb it down, possibly just using a wordless version, or super shortened? Or shoving them into the credits?

[JeanGreyForever]

I don't know, I'll want to hear more sources verifying this before I believe it. It sounds a little too contrived that Disney has suddenly added the songs back in as well as Mushu, despite no prior reports to confirm any of this.