New “Mulan” Spot Teases the Streaming Event of the Season
Disney is going to make history on September 4. That’s because this is the date they’re releasing Niki Caro’s epic, live-action remake of Mulan on Disney+. Disney decided to offer Caro’s sweeping, stunning film on its streaming platform rather than wait for the situation at theaters to improve. Mulan will be getting a theatrical release, however. Countries where Disney+ isn’t available, or, where theaters have reopened will get to see Caro’s film on the big screen. For the rest of us, Disney+ is the place to catch the action.
In a new TV spot, Disney makes the case that September 4 marks the streaming event of the season.
The new spot effectively shows why so many folks are excited about this iteration of the classic tale. The story is centered on a young woman (Yifei Liu) who disguises herself in order to take her father’s place in the upcoming war with China. Yet what we’ve learned from tracking this film through its production (and reading reviews) is just how technically ambitious these fight sequences are.
“I loved creating the stunt sequences in this film,” Niki Caro said in a previous featurette about the stunts. “The action is explosive.” The action is both relentlessly intense and gorgeously rendered. Watching Liu brandishing her sword, leaping from roofs, and scampering up walls is a joy. There’s a visual elegance to the action, too. “It’s not just action for action’s sake,” Caro said. “It’s all coming from character or from story. Every action is very meaningful. The stunt sequences are epic…You’ve never seen anything quite so extraordinary in your life.”
Mulan also has another major thing going for it; martial arts legends Jet Li and Donnie Yen and Jet Li are on hand to lend their mastery. As for the folks without Li and Yen’s pedigree, stunt coordinator Ben Cooke helped train up the rest of the cast so they all looked like seasoned fighters.
Joining Liu as Mulan, Yen as Commander Tung, and Li as the Emperor are Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan; Yoson An as Cheng Honghui; and Gong Li as Xianniang.
Caro’s film comes from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Elizabeth Martin, and Lauren Hynek, based on the narrative poem “The Ballad of Mulan.”
For more on Mulan (and as an added incentive to see the film at home if you’re living in the U.S. or Canada), see below:
“Mulan” Heading to Disney+ This September
Early Mulan Reactions Praise a Stunning Live-Action Remake
Mulan Featurette Explores the Film’s Sensational Stunts
New Images From Mulan Reveal Epic Warrior’s Tale
Featured image: Mulan (Yifei Liu). Photo: Film Frame. © 2019 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
