'Mulan' will see Liu Yifei’s female warrior grow into her own as she takes on Bori Khan for family and country
Hua Mulan, the female warrior who takes the place of her aging father in the army because she has no brothers who can be sent to serve the country is the inspiration behind Disney's upcoming live-action film 'Mulan' starring Liu Yifei. The trailer of the film that is all set to premiere on Disney+ features Liu Yifei learning from her father about her role as a responsible daughter. He tells her that just like the phoenix that sits on the Emperor's right side, as his guardian and brings him honor; she must bring honor to her family.
She learns how she can do so as a daughter but not too much later, an imperial edict is passed that every family must send one man to fight in the war against the invaders from the North. With no sons in Mulan's family, her father takes on this responsibility despite his physical condition. Mulan cannot accept that her father might very well die on the battlefield and so she decides to take his place. She believes that it is her duty to protect her family and so she rides by herself to the camp where young men are trained to fight in the war against Bori Khan.
She goes through training side by side with the other men and emerges victorious and it is also clear that she is a soldier who has the passion and talent to fight for her country. In fact, her spirit and talent take her high, she even gets to meet the Emperor. However, what she hears is that he sees something is holding her back. She is also told by Bori Khan's partner, Xianniang, who is a powerful witch, that once her truth is exposed, she will not be left alone.
The final trailer also revealed that Mulan's father had already fought in other wars and made many sacrifices. It shows how her family decides to go along with her attempt to fill-in for her father because the alternative is death and this trailer also gives us more details about the villains of the film -- Bori Khan and Xianniang. It seems Bori Khan wants to exact revenge for his father and the coordinated attacks by him is just the first step towards accomplishing it. The question that the film will answer is if a warrior can be a girl and from Bori Khan's shock about a girl plausibly threatening his plan, we might see this sentiment get used a lot through the movie.
'Mulan' is set to premiere on Disney+ on September 4.