With Beauty and the Beast arriving in theaters in just one month, Disney isn’t wasting any time resting on its collective laurels.  According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney has been busy assembling a team for its live-action Mulan movie.  Most recently, the studio has finally found its Director, Niki Caro, whom Disney has worked with before on the Kevin Costner movie McFarland, USA.  Caro was recently the subject of an essay written by Jessica Chastain, the star of her most recent movie, The Zookeeper’s Wife, who sang her praises for the gender-inclusiveness of the set.

“This comes from when women in power make room for other women.”

With Mulan having such a female-driven story, hiring Niki Caro on as Director should be an absolute boon for Disney, which should help them recoup any love that may have been lost when rumors surfaced suggesting that the live-action movie would feature non-Chinese characters, including a white male lead.  Disney was quick to release a statement to the contrary, stating that all of the primary characters would be of Chinese descent.  This may have helped quell some concerns, though all eyes will still be focused on Disney’s casting decisions for the live-action remake of as beloved of a movie as Mulan is.

Disney certainly seems to be looking to do right by Mulan fans.  The studio has Chinese cultural consultants working hand-in-hand with its own China-based team, and the studio has also hired Hong Kong-based producer Bill Kong as executive producer of the project.  Kong has produced several high-profile movies, which include Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the last of which he received an Oscar nomination for.

So far, Disney has been very successful with its recent string of live-action movies based on their older, animated predecessors.  Cinderella, The Jungle Book and Maleficent have already been released, and as mentioned above, Beauty and the Beast is almost here.  Looking into the future, Disney will also be giving the same treatment to at least three other Disney classics.  The three movies that we currently know of are Cruella, based on 101 Dalmations and starring Emma Stone: Tink, based on Peter Pan and starring Reese Witherspoon: and a remake of the Lion King, which will be helmed by Jon Favreau, who also directed The Jungle Book.

So, are you excited to see what Disney does with a live-action version of Mulan?  Who do you think should be cast in the titular role?  Personally, I’m a firm believer in giving voice actors a shot at their live-action counterparts (Nolan North as Nathan Drake, Troy Baker as Joel from The Last of Us, etc), so I’m hoping that Ming-Na Wen will reprise her role and come back to be Mulan once more.  Hell, we can even throw Eddy Murphy into a dragon suit!  Let us know what you think in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to DFTG for all your movie and gaming news!