Movie Thread: The Sequel!

"This wasn't the right movie to cast a Chinese actress, you need someone with star power and Hollywood just doesn't have a Chinese actress like this so this was the wrong move to do that. Maybe in another movie though..." (Every response to criticism of casting white actors ever)

In the interest of fairness though the casting call apparently asks for a Chinese actress so I won't be critical quite yet

They're looking for leads who are fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese, and they're casting internationally, so it seems to me they are aware of recent failures and are looking in the right direction.
www.hypable.com/mulan-casting-call-concerns/
But no songs ... ooh that's kinda worrying for Mulan

I have zero interest in it without the songs. 

Honestly, if they're going with an authentic cast and dropping the songs I'd be much more interested in seeing a historical epic based on the Ballad of Mulan or the Romance of the Sui and the Tang. Hua Mulan was a fascinating character in history and we are sorely lacking in dramas from Southern and Northern Dynasty periods of Chinese history. Could be very interesting if they are going for a more unique approach here.

I agree with Basil. What you suggest would be a good movie, no doubt, but it's highly unlikely that Disney will be the studio to make such a movie. If Disney goes that route great, but i'm sceptical 

this looks fucking GOOD

i could see someone like Jaime Chung, but she's like 35 years old. Damn why do asian people age so well

I never said anything about gritty.  However I think evidence is all ready pointing to something of a departure from their previous live-action adaptations.  You all ready said that it sounds like they're changing the plot from the original movie.  I wouldn't be surprised that Disney is much more interested in appealing to the Chinese market this time around, something Hollywood is relying on more and more.  The Chinese movie theater earnings are on the rise, while (thanks to home video and streaming) they are declining in America.  Many big budget Hollywood films of recent years(including Pacific Rim, Warcraft) only made a profit thanks to late returns in the Chinese market.  Disney is all ready ahead of the curve by having producers make an alternate version of Iron Man 3 for Chinese audiences, featuring a subplot with Chinese star Bingbing Fan.

Let's face it, Mulan is one of the least popular Disney musicals, and Chinese audiences are more likely to be familiar with the Mulan character from their own history and pop culture.  The fact that they're dropping the songs all ready indicate that they're attempting to distance this movie from the 90s musical.  Additionally, if they're looking for actors fluent in Mandarin that implies that there will be Mandarin speaking in the movie, which is huge for a big budget Hollywood film and another indication that they're attempting to appeal to the Chinese market.  In the Sui Tang Romance, Mulan's story is tragic similar to Romeo and Juliet.  Mulan returns from her adventures years later to reunite with her father only to find out that he has died and her mother has remarried.  To avoid being sent off to be a foreign ruler's concubine, she commits suicide after sending her sister to deliver a message to her true love.  A rousing musical might seem insincere in tone for Chinese audiences, so maybe Disney is attempting to emulate something akin to the wildly successful Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet that has a bittersweet, romantic tone.  The American audience will be interested riding off of the success of Beauty and the Beast, but instead of copying the old formula, and trying something outside of the box, they could have a huge international hit on their hands.  Of course that's just my speculation, but I'm kind of intrigued.

They may alter certain plot points, but they won't change the tone of the original movie entirely. They have done this before, the story of Maleficent has very little incommon with 1959's Sleeping Beauty, but it was still child friendly and fairy tale like, somehow even more so than the animated film. Furthermore, neither Cinderella nor Maleficent featured any songs from the original musicals they're based on, so this is not exactly a new phenomenon. 

I think the movie you're proposing sounds interesting, but it's something that has to be done by another company than Disney, and certainly not under the guise of a remake of a beloved animated musical.

I don't think Mulan is one of the least favourite Disney musicals at all. It's not Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid, but compared to movies like Pocahontas or Hunchback, Mulan is fondly remembered as one of the better movies made during the Disney Renaissance. The soundtrack especially is revered by so many, which is why I find it super disappointing that they're doing a remake but leaving out all the songs.