Disney’s live-action adaptation of the animated classic, Mulan is officially happening.
The studio behind the film has begun a global search for a Chinese actress to play the legendary hero Mulan. Though, no actresses have been confirmed as potential leads.
Especially surprising is that the film, which is being fast-tracked, already has a confirmed release date of November 2nd, 2018, and will be released in 3D, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This is an extremely short turn-around considering they have only just begun searching for their lead actress.
Mulan is the 1998 animated film created by Disney that was based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan. The film centres around a woman who disguises herself as a man so that she can take her ageing father’s place in the Chinese army during a brutal war.
A director for Mulan has not been revealed. Though, Jason Reed, along with Chris Bender and Jake Weiner, are attached to produce.
Disney bought a spec script for the live-action Mulan film back in 2015. The studio brought in Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Jurassic Park) for rewrites.
This news follows the trend of Disney turning their classic animated characters into live-action epics, with varying results. The Jungle Book, Cinderella and Maleficent, were all critically and commercially successful, but films such as Pete’s Dragon were not as well received. But, Disney is currently building up hype for the live-action Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson, which opens on March 17, 2017, and many fans are excited to see this classic film come to life, while a live-action adaptation of The Lion King was also announced in the past week.
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