The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Jet Li (The Expendables 3) and Gong Li (Ana) will be starring in Disney‘s live-action movie Mulan! The announcement comes after the recent news that Donnie Yen (IP Man franchise, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) will be playing Commander Tung in the Mulan reimagining. The trio will be joining Liu Yifei, who stars as the lead in the titular role.
Jet Li is said to be in final talks to play the emperor of China, who orders the mobilization of troops via the conscription of one male from each household, which is how we find Mulan disguising herself as a man in order to spare her elderly father from having to join the military. Gong Li has been confirmed as the movie’s villain, a powerful witch. Xana Tang (Filthy Rich) is also joining the cast as Mulan’s sister.
Mulan, released by the studio in 1998, adapted the ancient Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, a female warrior who disguises herself as a man in order to take the place of her aging father in the military.
Mulan is part of an ambitious slate of live-action adaptations of classic animated features at Disney. That slate includes The Lion King, The Jungle Book 2, Cruella, Maleficent 2, Dumbo, James and the Giant Peach, Winnie the Pooh, Pinocchio, Genies, Night on Bald Mountain, The Little Mermaid, and The Sword in the Stone. A live-action Tinker Bell movie starring Reese Witherspoon is also in parallel development to a live-action Peter Pan directed by Pete’s Dragon writer and director David Lowery.
Lauren Hynek, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Elizabeth Martin are providing the screenplay for Mulan, which has Chris Bender Jason Reed and Jake Weiner producing.
Mulan will hit theaters on March 27, 2020.
