Disney Set to Do a Live-Action Re-Make of 'Mulan'
Disney is eyeing another live-action retelling of its own animated classics, this time of Mulan according to The Hollywood Reporter. Mulan follows the story of a young woman who disguises herself as a man so she can take her father's place in the army and go to war. In Disney's animated version, the heroine is helped by her trusty dragon sidekick Mushu, to become a skilled warrior who eventually rose to be one of her country's greatest champions.
The studio has reportedly bought a script by the writing team of Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek that centers on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the female warrior who was the main character in Disney's 1998 animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook which earned $304.3 million worldwide, earned Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations and resulted in a 2005 direct-to-DVD sequel, Mulan II. Chris Bender and J.C. Spink are producing the new Mulan live-action remake project.
Mulan continues Disney's recent trend of adapting its own classic cartoons into live-action films. So far, the studio has released a live-action version of Alice in Wonderland which grossed $1.02 billion, Maleficent, a Cinderella prequel which earned $758.4 million worldwide, and recently. Cinderella has already earned $336.2 million worldwide to date since hitting theaters three weeks ago.
A live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, directed by Bill Condon and starring Emma Watson, Luke Evans and Dan Stevens is scheduled to hit theaters in March 2017. But before that, the studio will release a new live-action version of The Jungle Book directed by Jon Favreau on April 15, 2016 and the James Bobbin-helmed Through the Looking Glass, the live-action sequel to Alice in Wonderland, on May 27, 2016. Disney has also signed on Tim Burton to direct a live-action version of Dumbo based on a script written by Ehren Kruger.