UPDATE: Live-Action ‘Mulan’ Disney Accepted the Challenge Launches Worldwide Hunt For Chinese Actress

Disney is all set to start working on the Live-Action "Mulan." Fans are demanding that the lead character must be a Chinese actress.

The Controversy

"Mulan" is a 1998 classic animated film that follows the story of a Chinese lady named Hua Mulan. Hollywood Reporter stated that it was Chinese actress Ming-Na Wen who played the lead character back in 1998. Her singing voice was performed by a Filipina singer, Lea Salonga. Given these facts, it's no wonder fans are demanding that a Chinese actress play the lead role in the Live-Action "Mulan."

Metro reported that even before Disney was able to set a release date for the film, a petition was filed demanding that Disney must avoid "whitewashing" the Live-Action remake of "Mulan."

The petition was founded by Natalie Molnar who said that casting Caucasian actors and actresses can inadvertently affect the film. She added, "Whitewashing implies that people of colour cannot be heroes, leaving it far more difficult for countless children around the world to see themselves in the stories they love and think that they too can make a difference."

The claims of the petitioners are not dumbfounded. There had been several films where Disney decided to use Caucasian actors for roles meant for "color or nonwhite" characters such as The Last Airbender, Pan and Ghost in the Shell.

Challenge Accepted

According to Vanity Fair, the petition is gathering a lot of support and it now has 104,000 signatures. This is probably why Disney is now on the hunt for the perfect actress to play the lead character in the Live-Action "Mulan."

Aside from doing the global search, Disney also announced that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are responsible for rewriting the script for Live-Action "Mulan." There's no official announcement as to who will be directing the film.

"Mulan" is set to be release on November 2, 2018.