Donnie Yen joins Disney’s live action Mulan

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Working on a Disney movie comes with plenty of perks, the best of them all being that you may get the opportunity to be in more Disney movies. Donnie Yen got a chance to work with the House of Mouse for ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, and now in a perfect piece of casting, the superstar from China will be joining the soon-to-be-megahit movie, MULAN.

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Deadline got the exclusive that Yen has joined the remake of the animated classic as Commander Tung, the mentor of the young warrior woman, Mulan (Liu Yifei). No other details were given, but the movie will probably begin shooting sometime this year with director Niki Caro (THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE, MCFARLAND USA) at the helm.

The remake was supposed to come out this November but given the fact the movie hadn’t begun filming yet (or clearly finished casting), it was bumped all the way to March 27, 2020. The wait will surely be worth it, as Caro has said the movie will offer a “fresh take on female empowerment,” and will be a little grittier than the original with a “touch of Ridley Scott.”

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I’ve been watching Yen for years – starting to really appreciate him when I saw IP MAN – and I’m thrilled he’s finally getting so much exposure over here. He was a standout in ROGUE ONE, and even brought some flair to XXX: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE, a movie that hurts my head to think about. He is a very welcome addition to this movie, a project I’m more excited about than ever before.

MULAN is set for March 27, 2020.