Disney’s Live-Action ‘Mulan’ Trailer Drops Tomorrow So Here’s What We Know So Far

Mulan

There’s been a slew, a slew, of live-action Disney remakes over the past year or so. Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, Dumbo, and there’s also the upcoming Lion King. These are all fabulous and I love them dearly but Mulan, MULAN is the one I’ve been anxiously waiting for. And its trailer hits the internet tomorrow.

[jwplayer DcIk9HAW]

To prepare both you and I for this momentous occasion, I’ve sussed the internet for whatever precious information there is floating around because let’s face it, Disney’s tight-lipped as hell.

OKAY, SO:

Liu Yifei stars in the titular role as absolute badass Mulan. Joining her is:

  • Ip Man star / living legend Donnie Yen as Mulan’s mentor, Commander Tung 
  • BADASS Jet Li as the emperor
  • Gong Li (Memoirs of a Geisha) as one of the film’s baddies / powerful witch
  • Jason Scott Lee (The Jungle Book) as other film baddie Bori Khan (Bori Khan replaces the OG Disney villain Shan Yu)
  • Yoson An (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny) as Chen Honghui 
  • Newcomer Xana Tang as Hua Xiu, Mulan’s sister
  • Tzi Ma (Rush Hour) as Hua Zhou, Mulan’s dad
  • Nelson Lee (Blade) as The Chancellor
  • Chum Ehelepola (Felony) as cheeky bandit Ramtish 
  • Utkarsh Ambudkar (Pitch Perfect) as other cheeky bandit Skatch 
  • Ron Yuan (Marco Polo) as Sergeant Qiang 
  • Jimmy Wong (Video Game High School) as Ling 
  • Doua Moua (Gran Torino) as Po

Rosalind Chao (The Joy Luck Club) and Cheng Pei-Pei (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) also star in the film but their roles are not yet known.

BADASS ALERT.

If you’re going into the trailer assuming it’s going to be like Jon Favreau‘s live-action The Lion King – and by this, I mean a faithful remake – then you’re in for a surprise. Instead, the film’s based on both the Disney classic and the traditional Chinese ballad of Mulan so expect some changes.

There is definitely no Li Shang and the internet is saying a lot of upsetting things about Mushu so just… let that sink in.

Instead, Chen Honghui will serve as Mulan’s love interest. According to the official presser, this new bloke is a “confident and ambitious recruit who joins Commander Tung’s unit. He becomes Mulan’s most important ally and eventual love interest.”

It’s done, it’s happened, there’s no Shang, we have to move on.

The film is directed by Niki Caro, helmer of The Whale Rider – which you may have studied the hell out of back in high school.

It’s still unclear what role music – the iconic songs – will play in the movie but here’s hoping it’s in there somewhere. Take this with a grain of salt because things could have changed, but Caro did say there was “for sure” going to be music in the movie ahead of production. Please do not murder me if there isn’t.

There’s also no news yet on a cheeky cameo from the original Disney voice-actors, Ming-Na Wen (Mulan) or B.D. Wong (Shang).

And lastly, Mulan is slated for release March 2020.

Wong, who stars as Ling, recently took to his Twitter to hype the trailer’s arrival. According to the actor, the trailer will premiere during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final which kicks off overnight for us Australians, or really, in a couple of hours.

“I know a lot of you are very excited for this, I am too but this isn’t about me,” he said. “This is about Mulan, the legendary Chinese warrior and by happenstance I did get to see a sneak peek of the trailer, just a little bit, and all I can say is that a lot of you are going to be very happy. And this is just a tiny piece of the entire movie.”

There is only one way to end this yarn.

(It’s the sing-along version so you better fooken sing.)

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV