Donnie Yen, the international martial-arts superstar who was introduced to an even wider audience with his role as blind monk Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, has taken another high-profile role for Disney. This time, Yen will be working for the Mouse House proper, in the live-action remake of the company’s beloved 1998 animated film Mulan. Yen will play a new role, Commander Tung, who’s described as “a mentor and teacher to Mulan.”
Liu Yifei, a fast-rising Chinese star who’s worked with the likes of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Chow Yun-Fat, is set to star as Mulan. Whale Rider and The Zookeeper’s Wife director Niki Caro will helm Disney’s live-action remake, which is set to debut on March 27, 2020. In the meantime, Yen is currently shooting the fourth film in his immensely popular Ip Man series, in which he plays Ip Man (a.k.a. Yip Man), the mid-20th century Wing Chun master who was Bruce Lee’s martial-arts mentor.