‘Mulan’ Live Action Movie: Everything We Know So Far

With the live action version of “Beauty and the Beast” doing so well at the box office, fans are already counting down to the next Disney remake. “Mulan,” the story of a girl who takes her father’s place in the military, is set to be the next reboot in theaters. Though it’s still more than a year away, we have a few pieces of information about the upcoming movie.

Director: Niki Caro will helm the new “Mulan.” This will be the first time the New Zealand born director will take on a Disney princess movie, but she previously worked with the Mouse House on “McFarland, USA” in 2015.

Writers: Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek originally penned the script, and Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver rewrote it, Entertainment Weekly reports. Jaffa and Silver are also responsible for “Avatar 3” and “Jurassic World.”

No Singing: As of right now, “Reflection” and “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” will not be in the movie. It seems that the live action “Mulan” will not be a musical. “From what I understand, no songs right now, much to the horror of my children,” Caro told Moviefone.

Emphasis On The Action: The singing is put on hold, but the martial arts scenes will still be there. “I haven’t started yet so I can’t give you any real detail,” Caro explained to ScreenCrush. “But the budget and the location and the story is offering such scope to me for [an] incredible, muscular piece of girly martial arts extravaganza in China. And I can’t wait.”

Sean Bailey, president of motion picture production at Disney, also emphasized the action. He told Vulture that they wanted to adjust the story of “Mulan” to “make it a little more muscular, stronger, with touch of Ridley Scott.”

The film also counts Bill Kong as a producer, and he certainly seems to know his way around action movies. His previous credits include “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “House of Flying Daggers.”

Chinese Influence: Disney doesn’t just want to be inspired by a Chinese folk tale. They want to work with people in China. Bailey already hinted at a partnership. “Obviously the idea of working with collaborators in China is an interesting opportunity too,” he said.

Release Date: It’s still too early to get a lot of details. No cast announcements have been made, and it isn’t clear when filming will begin. However, it’s never too early to start a countdown. The “Mulan” live action remake is set to be released Nov. 2, 2018.