A report from within Chinese social media denies a claim made by TheDisInsider that said Disney’s live-action re-imagining of Mulan will undergo “extensive reshoots” lasting four months. Citing an inside source, TheDisInsider claimed Mulan, releasing to domestic theaters March 27, will perform additional photography through February over its “significant battle sequences.” Now Tracking Hollywood, an official account from Chinese media Sina, is disputing that claim: the site says Mulan, like most bigger-budgeted films, will undergo reshoots for one or two weeks, a process that is “very common for most Hollywood blockbusters.”
As relayed by Chinese film and box office tracker @gavinfeng97 on Twitter, Tracking Hollywood wrote: “We heard that Mulan would start additional photography, but the scale of the work is ‘very common for most Hollywood blockbusters.’ The team wouldn’t add new scenes or change a whole scene in this movie, which means it’s not extensive. It would last only one or two weeks, not four months.”
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Roughly five minutes of footage exhibited at Disney’s bi-annual D23 Expo in August was reportedly well-received by convention attendees, who received an exclusive look at the film’s spin on the animated original’s “You’ll Bring Honor to Us All” sequence. Unlike the 1998 film that starred Ming-Na Wen as the titular heroine, the live-action Mulan incorporated a strictly instrumental version of the song.
In June, TheDisInsider reported Mulan made changes to the songs of the 1998 film, doing away with the musical aspect of the animated version in favor of instrumental renditions of favorites like “Reflection” or “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” Though TheDisInsider claimed Jumanji: The Next Level star Kevin Hart was eyed for the role of talking dragon sidekick Mushu, originally voiced by Eddie Murphy, it was later learned Mushu was replaced entirely with a phoenix that made its debut in the final seconds of the footage screened at D23.
Caro earlier characterized the new Mulan as a “big, girly martial arts epic” inspired by both the traditional Chinese ballad and the beloved Disney classic.
Mulan is the epic adventure of a fearless young woman who masquerades as a man in order to fight Northern Invaders attacking China. The eldest daughter of an honored warrior, Hua Mulan is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. When the Emperor issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army, she steps in to take the place of her ailing father as Hua Jun, becoming one of China’s greatest warriors ever.
Starring Yifei Liu, Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Gong Li, Yoson An and Jet Li, Mulan opens March 27, 2020.
