UPDATE, December 5, 2:10 p.m. ET: On December 5, Disney released its first extended trailer that shows a bit more of the film. While the original teaser gave us only a glimpse into Mulan’s transformation from honorable daughter to fearless warrior, the trailer goes into much more detail. It shows audiences the moment when Mulan decides to fill in for her father in the Chinese army by disguising herself as a male soldier, and it includes some serious battle scenes—including the big fight in which she confronts the Huns in the mountains. The trailer also introduces new characters, among them Xian Lang, a villainous witch who conspires against Mulan and threatens to reveal her secret.
Check out the full trailer below.
ORIGINAL STORY:
On Sunday (July 7), Disney gifted us with the first trailer for Mulan, the latest in its run of live-action remakes of their classic films. And while we’ve just gotten Aladdin in theaters, and we’re waiting for the release of The Lion King (July 19!) and the start of filming for The Little Mermaid (and following all of the developments along the way), fans are still pretty excited thanks to the one-minute, 30-second look they got at Mulan—judging by the subsequent tweets, that is.
If you haven’t watched Disney's 1998 animated version Mulan for the better part of two decades, it follows the story of a young woman who dresses as a man in order to take her older father’s place in the Chinese army after the emperor conscripts one man per household to fight—and she becomes a legendary warrior in the process. The plot is based on the Ballad of Mulan, which dates back to China’s Northern and Southern dynasties (between 420 and 589), and it’s a story that’s been retold in film many times, including in an award-winning 2009 version called Rise of Mulan by a Chinese studio that brought more realism to the tale.
The glimpse of the upcoming Disney live-action remake, out in 2020, opens with Mulan riding a horse across a field, then cuts to her family announcing that the matchmaker has found an auspicious match for her. She’s clearly not super-thrilled about it, but her dad says that it’s what’s best for the family. The teaser then goes on to split scenes between her training as a warrior and her training to be a “good wife,” as a character says, ultimately ending with her doing some serious damage on the battlefield.
The actress starring as Mulan in the live-action remake, Liu Yifei, reportedly beat out more than 1,000 other actresses for the role, according to Newsweek. And it seems this version is going to be a little less Disney-fied than the original, as one Twitter user pointed out—hence the lack of Mushu and singing in the teaser.
And let’s just say fans are pretty excited about their first glimpse:
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Watch the whole thing above—and start counting down until March 27, 2020.
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