Donnie Yen joins cast of Disney’s live-action ‘Mulan’
HONG KONG: Martial arts actor Donnie Yen has joined the cast of Disney’s live- action version of Mulan.
He is to star opposite actress Liu Yifei, who is to portray the titular character.
Liu was cast as the female warrior after an extensive worldwide search that concluded with her hire in November.
Donnie, on the other hand, will take on the role of Mulan’s mentor, Commander Tung.
Niki Caro will direct the feature, which is set for a March 27, 2020, release.
Chris Bender, Jason Reed and Jake Weiner are producing. Chinese producer Bill Kong ( Monster Hunt; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) will executive produce.
Mulan will be a re-teaming for Donnie and Disney. He had starred in the studio’s first Star Wars stand-alone, Rogue One.
Donnie had also toplined the popular Ip Man series that is now on its fourth instalment.
Earlier, it had been reported that a movie based on Sleeping Dogs, the cult-favourite openworld action game, is in the works, and Donnie will also be starring in it.
Donnie is to star opposite actress Liu Yifei, who is to portray the titular character. Liu was cast as the female warrior after an extensive worldwide search that concluded with her hire in November.
The original Sleeping Dogs game was developed by United Front Games and published by Square Enix. It follows the story of undercover cop, Wei Shen, as he infiltrates a Hong Kong cartel through legal and illegal means. It was incredibly well-received, and there was even an ambitious sequel in the works, but the developer abruptly closed down in 2016.
Donnie seems like a fine choice considering the original game’s heavy focus on martial arts combat.