If there is one complaint fans have had about Disney’s recent spate of live-action remakes, it’s that the films too closely resemble their animated counterparts. But after watching the newest trailer for the upcoming Mulan live-action remake, we don’t think similarities to the cartoon version are going to be a problem.
The movie isn’t a straight remake, but rather a reimagining. It adapts both the original animated film and the ancient Chinese legend of the character to create something completely new. Gone are many of the cartoon’s characters like the dragon Mushu, villain Shan Yu, and Mulan’s love interest, Li Shang — though the latter two do get somewhat similar counterparts in new characters Bori Khan and Chen Honghui, respectively. The most obvious new addition to the live-action film is the evil witch Xian Lang, who has the ability to transform into a bird of prey and who now serves as the film’s main villain, offering a good deal more personality than the largely-silent Shan Yu. There’s also a greater emphasis on the actual war in the new version, at least from the looks of the trailer. There are some seriously epic battles going on, and it appears that Mulan could be one of the largest-scale war movies we’ve seen in some time… and that is not something we expected to write about a Disney live-action remake. Check out the big battles in the new Mulan trailer below.
Mulan, starring Yifei Liu as the titular warrior, arrives in theaters on March 27, 2020.
