Entertainment Movies First Look! See the Actress Playing Mulan in Disney's Live-Action Remake We have our first glimpse of the titular heroine from Disney's 1998 animated classic. By Helen Murphy Published on August 13, 2018 01:57 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Stephen Tilley/Disney We finally have our first look at the live-action Mulan! To announce that production has begun on the film, which will shoot in New Zealand and China, Disney revealed a first glimpse at the actress playing the titular female warrior. Liu Yifei was cast as Mulan after a year-long global casting search and has been previously seen in The Forbidden Kingdom and Once Upon a Time, among other films. Yifei is joined by cast members including Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, and Yoson An. The original 1998 animated film was based on the Chinese tale of Hua Mulan, the Chinese cross-dressing warrior heroine. After the Emperor decrees that one man in each family must serve in the Imperial Army, Mulan takes her elderly father’s place, disguising herself as a boy. The live-action Mulan follow the success of previous live-action remakes from Disney, including Maleficent (the live-action reimagining of Sleeping Beauty), Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella. The original animated feature scored Disney $304.3 million worldwide and was nominated for an Oscar. The live-action Mulan will storm into theaters March 27, 2020.