Chinese actress Liu Yifei will play Fa Mulan.
After a year-long search, Disney has finally found a lead for its live-action movie Mulan.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Chinese actress Liu Yifei, also known as Crystal Liu, is set to star in Disney's live-action adaptation of the classic Chinese tale Mulan.
A team of casting directors visited five continents and saw nearly 1,000 candidates for the role, which requires credible martial arts skills, the ability to speak English and star quality.
This new take on the warrior woman sees a young woman disguises herself as a man to take her father's place in the army against the backdrop of fifth-century China.
The movie is being directed by Niki Caro and produced by Chris Bender, Jason Reed, and Jake Weiner.
Ming-Na Wen, who voiced Mulan in 1998 was delighted to hand over the baton.
The movie is eyeing a 2019 release.
The English-language version of the original Mulan (1998) featured the voices of Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer, and BD Wong, while Jackie Chan voiced Chinese dubs of the movie.
The film went on to earn $304.3 million worldwide.
Liu, nicknamed "Fairy Sister" in China, is one of her native country's most popular actresses.
Since breaking out in various television shows in the 2000s, she has appeared in successful films like The Forbidden Kingdom (with Jackie Chan and Jet Li), White Vengeance, Outcast (with Nicolas Cage and Hayden Christensen) and Ip Man 3.
Mulan is joining the rapidly growing live-action roster of Disney. Apart from this movie, live-action remakes of Aladdin starring Will Smith, Mena Massoud, and Naomi Scott is being directed by Guy Ritchie. The Lion King makers recently announced their cast that includes big names like Beyonce, Donald Glover, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Disney tasted success off live-action remakes with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. It reached a peak with Jon Favreau's iteration of The Jungle Book. This year's Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens became the highest-grossing film of 2017 so far.
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