Watch the teaser trailer for Disney’s live-action remake of ‘Mulan’

Sorry, there's no Mushu to be found

The teaser trailer for Disney’s upcoming Mulan live-action remake, starring Chinese actress Liu Yifei as its titular heroine, is out now. 

The minute-long clip gives fans a first look at Niki Caro’s highly anticipated adaptation, with some familiar scenes taken from the 1998 animated flick. It includes Mulan’s visit to the matchmaker and her masquerading as a male soldier in order to spare her father (played by Tzi Ma) from joining the Imperial Army and going to war. But while there are plenty of swashbuckling sword fights and acrobatic stunts sprinkled throughout, there are a few things conspicuously missing from the trailer: The songs and, yes, everyone’s favourite dragon, Mushu.

Last year, Caro announced that the remake will ditch the musical numbers from the original. “It’s a big, girly martial arts epic,” she told Moviefone in an interview. “It will be extremely muscular and thrilling and entertaining and moving.”

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Disney’s President of Motion Picture Production Sean Bailey also confirmed that the upcoming film will feature a more female-driven narrative. “Mulan is clearly an empowered-female story, but we can also do something new in this reimagining, make it a little more muscular, stronger, with [a] touch of Ridley Scott,” he told Vulture.

Starring alongside Liu is a glittering cast of Asian actors, which includes Jason Scott Lee, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Ron Yuan, Rosalind Chao, Cheng Pei-pei and Nelson Lee. Veteran actors Jet Li and Gong Li will also make appearances – the former as the Emperor of China and the latter as the film’s new villain, a witch named Xian Liang.

The live-action version bore the brunt of major backlash last year after the decision to remove Li Shang – the animated Mulan’s love interest and commander – was made public. He will be replaced by Chen Honghui, a character played by New Zealand actor Yoson An. Rogue Ones Donnie Yen is also set to play another new addition: Commander Tung, Mulan’s mentor.

Will the new version bring honour to us all? Watch the teaser trailer and check out the movie’s first poster below to find out.

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Disney has been on a roll lately with its line-up of live-action film adaptations. Last week, it confirmed that Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle will play the role of Ariel in The Little Mermaid reboot.

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