Chinese actress Liu Yifei, aka Crystal Liu, will star in Disney’s live-action adaptation of the classic Chinese tale, Mulan.
Niki Caro is directing the picture, which is produced by Chris Bender, Jason Reed, and Jake Weiner.
The movie will hit theaters in 2019.
The original, English-language version of the 1998 “Mulan” featured the voices of Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer, and BD Wong, while Jackie Chan provided his voice for Chinese dubs of the movie. It grossed $304 million worldwide.
“Jurassic World” and “Avatar” sequel scribes Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver came on board in 2015 to rewrite the spec script by Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin.
In its casting, the studio was determined for the actress to be Chinese, auditioning numerous girls until selecting Liu.
Gender Bender
The newcomer will star as Hua Mulan, who disguised herself as a man to take her father’s army conscription in fifth-century China.
