‘Mulan’ Live-Action Adaptation Taps ‘McFarland, USA’ Director to Helm Project

Disney has been busy churning out one live-action adaptation after another, "Mulan" being their next project. Niki Caro, fresh from working with "The Zookeeper's Wife", will be at the helm of this Chinese tale.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, after considering other female directors to lead their "Mulan" project, including Patty Jenkins of Wonder Woman and Michelle MacLaren of Breaking Bad, Caro was given the task to bring the 1998 classic tale to life. This is Caro's second project with the Mouse House, previously working on 2015's "McFarland, USA", led by Kevin Costner.

Disney originally wanted an Asian director to lead the project, citing the Asian influences of "Mulan". While they tried to tap the services of Ang Lee and Jiang Wen from "Rogue One", both were not able to commit on the project. They were, however, able to get Hong Kong producer Bill Kong as the executive producer for "Mulan". As GameSpot reported, Kong has produced some of the best Eastern movies seen in the West, like "House of Hidden Daggers" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".             

Controversy has already hit the project, with reports stating that Disney will be casting non-Chinese actors for the live-action adaptation of "Mulan". Responding to the claim, the Mouse House has clarified that "Mulan", which has "Jurassic World" scribes Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver working on the script, will have a Chinese cast. To this effect, mainland China is being searched for the perfect actors to play the key roles for the film, including the titular lady warrior.

"Mulan" is the most recent project for Disney's transition from animated to live-action movies. "Beauty and the Beast" will be out in theatres by March, followed by "Mulan" on November 2018. "Cruella", a spinoff of "101 Dalmatians" starring Emma Stone is next on the list, followed by Reese Witherspoon's Tinkerbell adaptation and Jon Favreau-directed "Lion King" remake.