Disney’s live-action ‘Mulan’ director hired
LOS ANGELES: Niki Caro, who broke through with the 2002 Maori family drama “Whale Rider”, will direct Disney’s liveaction “Mulan”, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
In an industry where femalehelmed movies are still rare, Caro will be the second woman at the studio to direct a movie budgeted at over US$ 100 million.
Caro’s most recent fi lm, Focus’ upcoming “The Zookeeper’s Wife”, has been praised for its gender-inclusive set by its star, Jessica Chastain.
Disney previously worked with Caro, a New Zealand native, on the 2015 cross- country drama “McFarland, USA”, for which she lived in central California for nearly a year to immerse herself in the Mexican-American community there.
Disney also considered other women for its woman-warrior project, including “Wonder Woman’s” Patty Jenkins and Michelle MacLaren (“Breaking Bad”, “The Walking Dead”, “Game of Thrones”).
Caro’s hiring likely takes her out of the running for “Captain Marvel”, the studio’s fi rst female-fronted superhero movie.
Disney and producers Chris Bender, Jason Reed and Jake Weiner are taking pains to assure fans that “Mulan” will be culturally authentic.
The studio had initially sought an Asian director for the project, meeting with Ang Lee ( who passed, citing scheduling) and “Rogue One” star Jiang Wen, a hit director in his native China.
Sony, which is developing a rival live- action fi lm about the Chinese legend, also hoped to put an Asian director at the helm, but ultimately hired television veteran Alex Graves.
In addition to extensive conversations with Chinese cultural consultants and working closely with Disney’s own China-based team, the studio is bringing on Hong Kong-based super-producer Bill Kong as executive producer.
Kong produced the most successful Chinese fi lms to cross over — “Hero”, “House of Flying Daggers” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, for which he received an Oscar nomination — as well as many of China’s biggest hits, including “Monster Hunt”, “Wolf Totem” and “Journey to the West”.
Last year, controversy briefly arose when reports surfaced that the original spec that Disney purchased, written by Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin, featured non- Chinese characters, including a white male lead.
Disney quickly responded that “Mulan” and all primary characters in its movie, which has been rewritten by “Jurassic World’s” Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, will remain Chinese.
The studio is focusing its casting search in mainland China for the main roles, including the legendary woman warrior herself.