Mulan: Disney Casts Chinese Actress Liu Yifei in the Lead Role

Chinese actress Liu Yifei cast in the lead role in Disney’s live-action Mulan

The search for the lead in Disney‘s live-action Mulan film has ended. Chinese actress Liu Yifei, also known as Crystal Liu, will play the role, according to THR. The studio searched five continents to find the actress, who must be skilled in martial arts. Liu Yifei is nicknamed “Fairy Sister” by the Chinese public and is known for her work in a number of television dramas from the last decade, as well as The Forbidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan and Jet Li in 2008 and Outcast with Nicolas Cage and Hayden Christensen in 2014. She’s also known for starring in The Chinese Widow opposite Emile Hirsch, which opened at the Shanghai International Film Festival in June.

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 and Elizabeth Martin are providing the screenplay for Mulan, which has Chris Bender and J.C. Spink attached to produce.

What do you guys think of the casting of Liu Yifei in Disney’s live-action Mulan film? Are you excited to see the finished product? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Mulan will hit theaters in 2019.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

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