'Mulan': Disney Casts Liu Yifei to Star in Live-Action Remake | THR News - video Dailymotion

Hollywood Journal

THR has learned exclusively that Chinese actress Liu Yifei, also known as Crystal Liu, will star as the female warrior in Disney's live-action adaptation of the classic Chinese tale ‘Mulan.’

Transcript

00:00I've heard a great deal about you, Mulan."

00:03After a year-long worldwide surge, Mulan has finally been found.

00:07The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively that Disney is in negotiations with Chinese

00:11actress Liu Yifei, also known as Crystal Liu, to star as the female warrior in its live-action

00:16adaptation of the classic Chinese tale.

00:19The search for the star was an exhaustive one, with a team of casting directors visiting

00:23five continents and auditioning nearly 1,000 candidates for the role, which requires

00:27martial arts skills, English-speaking ability and, of course, star quality.

00:31To ensure cultural accuracy, the studio wanted to find a Chinese young woman to play

00:36Hua Mulan, who disguised herself as a man to take her father's army conscription in 5th

00:40century China. Liu, a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, is definitely the complete package.

00:45The actress has been nicknamed Fairy Sister by the Chinese public thanks to her pure and

00:49innocent looks and image, and she has been one of the country's most popular actresses

00:53since breaking out with a series of hit television dramas in the mid-2000s when she was still

00:58just a teenager. Oh, and she's also fluent in English, having lived in Queens, New York for

01:02part of her childhood. She acted in English for both 2008's The Forbidden Kingdom, alongside

01:07Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and 2014's Outcasts opposite Nicolas Cage and Hayden Christensen.

01:12She also appeared opposite Emile Hirsch in The Chinese Widow, which opened the Shanghai

01:16International Film Festival in June. Most recently, Liu starred in the fantasy romance

01:20Once Upon a Time, which earned $82.3 million in China this summer. Her other credits include

01:252012's The Assassins, Never Gone and the 4 trilogy. Nikki Caro, who most recently helmed

01:29The Zookeeper's Wife, is directing Disney's live-action Mulan, and production will begin in

01:332018 with the film scheduled for a 2019 release. The 1998 animated version, voice starry

01:39Ming-Na Wen, alongside Eddie Murphy and BD Wong, earned $304.3 million worldwide, as well as

01:45Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. To read more on the new Mulan, head to THR.com and tell

01:50us, do you think Disney has found the perfect lead in Crystal Liu? And are you excited to

01:54see the film when it comes out in 2019? Let us know in the comments. For The Hollywood

01:58Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.

'Mulan': Disney Casts Liu Yifei to Star in Live-Action Remake | THR News

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended