Popular Chinese singer-actress, Liu Yifei, also known as Crystal Liu, is set to star in Disney’s live-action adaptation of the classic Chinese tale “Mulan.”
Niki Caro is directing, and Chris Bender, Jason Reed, and Jake Weiner are producing the pic.
The movie is eyeing a 2019 release. The English-language version of the original “Mulan” (1998) featured the voices of Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer, and BD Wong, while Jackie Chan voiced Chinese dubs of the movie. The film grossed $304.3 million worldwide.
“Jurassic World” and “Avatar” sequel scribes Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver came on board in 2015 to rewrite the spec by Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin.
In its search to find the film’s star, the studio was determined that the actress was young and of Chinese decent. Disney auditioned thousands of individuals for the role. Liu, who has credits including “The Forbidden Kingdom,” and “Ip Man 3,” will star as Hua Mulan, who disguised herself as a man to take her father’s army conscription in fifth-century China.
The studio’s emphasis on live-action reboots follows the successes of “Maleficent,” “Cinderella,” “The Jungle Book,” and, most recently, “Beauty and the Beast,” which is currently 2017’s biggest box office hit. The studio is now shooting “Dumbo,” with Tim Burton directing and Colin Farrell starring.
