‘Mulan’ trailer: The fearless warrior braves new adventures in the name of family
The fearless, butt-kicking heroine Mulan is returning to screens to again bring honor to her family.
Disney dropped the first trailer for the live-action, highly anticipated “Mulan” on Thursday, starring Liu Yifei, also known by her English name Crystal Liu, as the titular warrior.
The trailer loyally follows the synopsis of the original 1998 animated film: China’s emperor (Jet Li) announces that one man in every family must serve in the Imperial Army to protect the country, which is “under attack from northern invaders.”
Their vicious leader, Bori Khan (Jason Scott Lee), fights alongside a brand-new villain: the powerful, crowned witch Xianniang (Gong Li).
“There will be no survivors,” Kahn, clad all in black, announces during an epic fight scene.
Hua Mulan, the oldest daughter of an esteemed warrior, steps in to fulfill that familial duty for her sickly father (Tzi Ma), disguising herself as a man to fill that role.
“Loyal. Brave. And true. It is my duty to protect my family,” Mulan says.
The remake also stars Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Mulan’s mentor, and Yoson An as Chen Honghui, her love interest.
With the trailer comes renewed discussion about Liu. Over the summer, the Chinese American actress went on social media to express support of Hong Kong police amid pro-democracy protests that triggered allegations of police brutality.
On the Chinese website Weibo, Liu shared an image from the state-run People’s Daily with the famous words of Fu Guohao, a reporter from a Communist Party-run newspaper: “I support the Hong Kong police. You can beat me up now.”
She followed it with another post and the words: “I also support the Hong Kong police” punctuated with heart and flexing-arm emojis.
The backlash was immediate and sparked the #BoycottMulan hashtag.
Disney’s “Mulan,” directed by Niki Caro and written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, opens in theaters March 27, 2020.
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