We’re getting excited for “Mulan,” which airs on Disney+ Friday. In anticipation of the movie, Disney+ released new character artwork. Not only is the artwork stunning, but fans of the original movie will notice an extra special Easter egg. Check out the photos below!
Mulan – Yifei Liu
The titular character, Mulan is a strong, independent woman. She’s determined to save her family by any means necessary. She’s played by the amazing Yifei Liu, who said this about being the character: “Each day I allowed myself to forget who I am for the moment. You have to kind of lose yourself and not think about just how brave Mulan is. Yes, I am playing a hero, so we need to bring out that side, but I think every human being is complex—and complex is so beautiful. And that’s where the energy of the character is.”
Commander Tung – Donnie Yen
Commander Tung is the commander of Mulan’s battalian. His role in the film is to serve as a kind of advisor to Mulan. Donnie Yen, who plays the character, said this: “Tung is [Mulan’s] mentor, and she sees something in [him], not only his skill but also his wisdom… I enjoyed the scenes with the conversations between Mulan and Tung. Those are the more sentimental moments that reveal [his] inner vision and passion. You normally don’t see that because when he’s in his armor, he’s very strict and very military.”
Xianniang – Gong Li
Xianniang is a new character in “Mulan.” She is the secret weapon of Bori Khan, the villain. Like Mulan, she is a great warrior, but unlike Mulan, she has an almost magical power that gives her an edge. We are excited to learn more about her character on Friday.
Bori Khan – Jason Scott Lee
Bori Khan is the villain of the movie. He wants to avenge the death of his father. Of playing the villain, Jason Scott Lee says he loves “the choices that the villain can make, and I like the heaviness and the weight that those characters carry. It’s fun to be singled out in black costuming. You really get a sense that he’s from a different world. He’s not of that China world that’s been created.”
Zhou – Tzi Ma
Zhou is Mulan’s father. When discussing his character, Tzi Ma lets us know that Mulan actually ahs a sister in the film. He says “Zhou is a former military man who went to war and was injured. When we meet him, it is years later, and he has a family—a wife and two girls. One girl, Mulan, has a spirit that’s very different from anyone else. Zhou tries to contain her spirit as much as he knows how. But it’s impossible, because you cannot contain that kind of a spirit. It’s a gift. And Zhou understands that, so you see Zhou always trying to straddle this line of containment but not refinement. Even when he’s heartbroken when she goes in his place, I think in his heart of hearts he knows she will come back and bring greatness.”
Emperor – Jet Li
The Emperor of China is played by Jet Li. Director Niki Caro said there was no one else for the role. “He brings to the role of the Emperor all the gravitas that you would expect for the Son of Heaven—but he also brings tremendous heart and soul and action. So that when Jet Li’s Emperor leaves the throne to protect his people, you know it is going to go down.”
Honghui – Yoson An
Although he starts off the film as Mulan’s adversary in the army, competing against her, they eventually become friends. Yosan An describes their relationship: “…he has a military background. So his martial arts skills, compared to the other boys, are pretty much through the roof… I guess you could say that Mulan and Honghui start off on the wrong foot. But as they train together and live together in training camp, Honghui can see that there’s something different about Mulan, in comparison to the other boys. Because Commander Tung is very aware of what Mulan is doing all the time during the training process, Honghui feels like there must be something there that he’s not seeing. So, he makes amends, and it turns out that he’s right.”
Did you catch the Easter egg in the photos? In each photo, Mulan can be seen in the weapon each character is holding. However, it’s not just Mulan, it’s Mulan as her “true self.” Even though she’s disguised as a soldier, we can see the reflection of who she truly is inside. This is made more profound as its only the audience who can see this, because the audience knows the secret already.
We can’t wait to see “Mulan” on Disney+ on Friday! Are you excited? Let us know below!