It’s been over 20 years since Disney’s Mulan was released and became an instant classic. Now, the team part of the live-action adaptation is eager to carry on the legacy while taking on their own, fresh interpretation. But not all faces will be familiar ones. While visiting the New Zealand set, Fandango learned all about the on-camera squad and has a breakdown of the characters — both old and new — so you can be prepared for the film’s debut on March 27. While there will sadly be no Mushu, there will be beloved characters as well as brand new ones and others that have been tweaked. Check out the guide below to learn about everyone who’s new (like the villains), an iconic character that’s been split into two new ones, and how the #MeToo movement impacted the film’s cast.
Mulan (Yifei Liu)
As 32-year-old actress Yifei Liu takes on her portrayal of this iconic female warrior, expect core elements of the Mulan you know and love to remain intact. Like the animated film, the story will center around Mulan, who disguises herself as a man and goes to war in the Imperial Army to protect her unwell father and honor her family. “The responsibility is to really be yourself as Mulan. She is so true to herself,” Liu says about the character’s gumption. “That is why she is so true to everything. You can’t really lie to yourself. The biggest gift you can give everybody is right love and that comes from your very inner knowledge of who you are.”
The actress is hopeful that like the 1998 film, this reinterpretation will inspire generations to come. “It opens up a positive side for younger generations that everything is possible and to think big and go for it,” she says. “Take risks. It doesn’t mean you can get it immediately. But, even when things seem impossible, you just got to believe it.”
Chen Honghui (Yoson An)
While there won’t be a Li Shang in this film (Mulan’s love interest and commanding officer in the animated version), the character is split into two new men in the upcoming adaptation: one is her equal in the squad, Chen Honghui. Producer Jason Reed said the decision came in light of #MeToo. “In the time of the #MeToo movement, having a commanding officer that is also the sexual love interest was very uncomfortable and we didn’t think it was appropriate,” he explains. Reed teases that Honghui’s dynamic with Mulan is very similar to the 1998 film and the two have a mutual respect. “He’s trying to befriend this other soldier who is ambitious, he wants to be the best student in class and all of the sudden this guys is sort of challenging him,” Reed says. And because of Mulan’s secret, “it creates a lot of tension of him being drawn to her, her being drawn to him… she constantly has to push him away.”
Actor Yoson An expands on his character, saying, “He comes in with an already trained military background. He’s very still. He’s very honorable. And, compared to the other boys, he’s very observant and aware of his surroundings.” He teases that Honghui and Mulan “start off on the wrong foot” before developing an “unspoken bond.” When asked if he’s ready to become a bisexual icon like Li Shang, An responds, “Yes, I am.” He says, “I have to make sure I don’t play it in a way where I treat this character as a woman. So, it’s kind of like a buddy relationship where I don’t know he’s a girl, really.”
Commander Tung (Donnie Yen)
The other new character in place of Li Shang will my Commander Tung, who serves as more of a father-figure to Mulan and a “mentor” who’s cheering her on. “Commander Tung is watching her fight and she’s always holding back,” explains producer Jason Reed. “She’s trying to hide what she’s good at — like, she’s trying to hide her energy. Commander Tung is like, ‘Lean into it! You’ve got this great gift — why aren’t you doing it?’ which is the opposite of exactly what she’s been told her entire life.” By splitting the original love interest Li Shang into Chen Honghui, Mulan’s equal, and Commander Tung, her mentor, Reed says, “I think we removed the icky-ness of the [original] power differential.”
Xian Lang (Gong Li)
There’s a new bad gal in town. Gong Li will play the shape-shifting witch Xian Lang. Producer Jason Reed expands on why this film incorporated a female villain, saying, “We wanted to have a female antagonist as well as having a male antagonist so that we could explore female power in that society in different ways and have different perspectives on it.” Jason Scott Lee, who plays the male antagonist Bori Khan (more on him below), teases that Xian Lang takes on another form of the “guardian spirit animal” fans love from the original film. “The witch has sort of this sorcerer background which allows her to shape shift,” he says.
Gong Li also helped shape the character, according to Lee. “She wanted to not play sort of this victimized type of sorceress so that she could show that she will have a prominent warrior spirit, rather than sort of that wispy, willowy, enchantress kind of character.” And she’ll have interactions with Mulan. “[They] do have quite a number of scenes where they work out their differences, you know, coming from two different worlds but trying to understand each other as well,” he says.
Bori Khan (Jason Scott Lee)
There may not be a villainous Shan Yu in this film, but there will be Bori Khan, who seems just as ruthless. According to actor Jason Scott Lee, his character has a “personal vengeance” out for the Empire as he plans to take back the land and culture of the Rourans, which has been “overrun by the Chinese.” “It’s about them being somewhat more of an indigenous factor and having their culture being run over and almost minimized,” Lee says. “With Bori Khan coming into his his strength and his power, he feels that it's his duty his responsibility to regain that pride and that stature of the Rouran people.”
How evil is Bori Khan? “He has been through a lot of wars. He's tough, just a tough character that almost can't get knocked down. In a lot of ways you could describe him as a cold-hearted ninja killer,” Lee says with a laugh. But he sympathizes with him character. “He may be ruthless and unkind and cruel to a degree. We're all trying to, in a sense, fight for something. So in my mind, I'm not a villain. I'm just trying to make peace and create, you know, a wonderful world for my future generations.”
Hua Xiu (Xana Tang)
While Mulan’s parents will again play roles in this adaptation, there is an addition to her family: a younger sister. Executive producer Barrie M. Osborne explains why Mulan’s younger sibling Hua Xiu was such an important addition to the film. “It shows the contrast between a woman, or a young girl, that is going outside the normal boundaries,” he says. “They're two different people with two different approaches to life that but they're both great sisters and friends,” he says. “The contrast between them helps illustrate what's different and interesting and unique about them.” Producer Jason Reed adds, “It makes it more than just Mulan having to take care of her father and mother. By adding a younger sister, we thought it added sort of a broader emotional context and added more motivation for her, particularly for the end.”
The Emperor (Jet Li)
While little information about the Emperor has been revealed, this character definitely has enemies that are a force to be reckoned with. According to Jason Scott Lee, his character Bori Khan teams up with the witch Xian Lang in attempts to take the Emperor down. “Bori Khan takes on Xian Lang to help him in a system and aid him in having a stronger strategy for taking on the Emperor,” he says. “We’re kind of on equal partnership. Equal terms.”
