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| Stephen Tilley/Disney |
Let's get down to business...Walt Disney Pictures' upcoming 2020 live-action Mulan film has officially finished production!
The anticipated live-action Disney film adaptation, which is inspired by the 1998 animated Disney classic film of the same name and directed by Niki Caro, starring Liu Yifei as the honorable Hua Mulan, has officially wrapped principal production on September 25.
The Mulan director rightfully commemorated the joyous day by posting a photo to her personal Instagram, writing "We are wrapped. You will find me in the Tower of Happiness..."
Caro's celebratory Instagram on Sunday isn't the first time the female director had kept followers up to date with the filming and development of the live-action Mulan production, as prior to officially wrapping filming this weekend Caro shared a couple of photos on Instagram, offering a couple of behind-the-scene looks into the production as it was happening.
While the Instagram posts gave a look at the behind-the-scenes of the production of the film and didn't actually show any actors in costumes or on-screen action, they were enough to get fans excited and get a feeling into the work and production of Mulan.
As Caro previously told The Hollywood Reporter, the "live-action [film] is based on that inspirational Chinese ballad and on the animated Disney classic."
While the director told Moviefone in March 2017 that the live-action remake would not be a musical like the 1998 animated Disney film, she later told The Hollywood Reporter that they're "still exploring the role that music's going to play in it, but for sure there will be music."
Production on the live-action film started on August 13 and took place in different locations in China and New Zealand.
Niki Caro has directed Whale Rider (her breakout film, which also gave the protagonist an Oscar nomination), North Country, The Zookeeper's Wife, and McFarland, USA, the latter being her first collaboration with Walt Disney Pictures.
By directing the live-action Mulan, Caro will become the fourth female film director to ever solo-direct a live-action film with a budget of over $100 million, and the second female director brought by Disney to ever direct a film with a budget of over $100 million (Ava Duvernay, who directed A Wrinkle in Time, was the first). The only two other female directors who were entrusted with a budget of $100 million and over like countless of male directors have been are Kathryn Bigelow for her film K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) and Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman (2017).
While Caro has expressed disappointment for there being such a limited amount of female filmmakers entrusted with such a budget (and female filmmakers being entrusted at all), telling Time that "as a statistic, that's really depressing," she's still grateful with Walt Disney Pictures "for the fact that their last two movies [A Wrinkle in Time and Mulan] are directed by women" and is hopeful for the future. "Me and Ava, we'll just kick that door wide open so more can follow," said Caro confidently.
Niki Caro's directing of Mulan is not only special for its significance of her as its director, but Caro has also voiced excitement for Hua Mulan's character, further telling Time that Mulan's her favorite princess: "Of all the princesses, she's the most kick-ass. I love her the most."
Mulan had been initially scheduled to be released on November 2018, but will be released on March 27, 2020.
It will be a wait, but any film by talented filmmakers like Niki Caro is, in my opinion, worth the wait.
Did you too keep up with the filming and development of the Mulan live-action film through Caro's Instagram posts (and may have dreamed of being there in the magic of the production as well)?
Do let me know - conversations are "cool" as kids say nowadays!
Sincerely, a very excited and hopeful Dora Goto :)
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