In another example of Hollywood’s double vision – think Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman, or even White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen – two competing Mulan reboots have emerged at Disney and Sony Pictures. Both are angled as live-action redos and, in respecting the Chinese heritage at the heart of Hua Mulan’s epic story, will feature predominantly Asian casts.
From what we understand, the House of Mouse is said to be further along with their new treatment, even staking out a late 2018 release date, but Deadline has confirmed today that Sony has appointed Alex Graves of Game of Thrones fame to direct its own interpretation. It’s a Chinese co-production, too, ensuring that the Mulan hailing from Sony Pictures International will feature a Chinese lead when the time comes. Jason Keller will handle script duties, tackling the legend of a young female warrior who takes her father’s place in the Chinese Imperial Army soon after his passing. Meanwhile, Doug Belgrad is on board to produce.
This is a rare foray into feature filmmaking for Alex Graves, who has carved out a reputation for helming high-profile episodes of Homeland, Bloodline and even Shameless. Until we learn more of the cast that Graves and Sony are quietly assembling for this overhaul of Mulan, it’s difficult to gauge how successful it’ll be, let alone how it can go toe-to-toe with Disney’s rival feature.
Sony Pictures is yet to nail down a release timeline for Mulan. On the other end of the spectrum, Disney’s rendition has been pegged for November 2, 2018, at which point the modern retelling will be released across standard theaters and 3D.