Disney's new trailer for its live-action Mulan film features a brand new antagonist, Gong Li as the witch, Xian Lang. She replaces Shan Yu, the original villain of the first film. It's one of a string of liberties the new movie is taking, which also includes cutting Mulan's talking dragon sidekick, Mushu, as well as all of the songs from the 1998 animated film. While Gong Li has spoken about the role, this the first footage of the new character fans have been able to see.
The second trailer shows Xian Lang as a powerful sorceress working alongside the invader, Bori Khan. She showcases her fighting abilities and fluidly transforms into a hawk in one scene.
This is in line with what we already knew about the witch. In an interview posted on Weibo, Li explained that Xian "can turn herself into a thousand eagles." She also compared Xian to another Chinese mythological figure, the White Bone Spirit from Journey to the West. The White Bone Spirit was a deceitful, shapeshifting demoness who causes discord among the heroes in the tale. Mulan's lack of self-confidence was a focal point in the original movie, and it looks like that theme will return as, in the trailer, Mulan's superior tells her that "something holds you back." Considering that Xian can be heard telling Mulan, "When they find out who you really are, they will show you no mercy," it's possible that she's trying to lead Mulan astray, preying on her insecurities.
Li also said that Xian will be very different from the Hun, Shan Yu, the original antagonist of the first movie. Shan Yu was a threatening character, but he didn't have a lot of substance to him. His motivation to dominate China was clear but audiences never found out why he wanted to do so or where he even came from. He appeared as more of a force to be overcome than a dynamic character. In contrast, Li promises that Xian "will become important in this movie [...] audiences will understand why this character is the way she is, what she wants -- they've handled the character very well." It looks like we'll be getting a lot more meat to the villains in this iteration of the story.
It's important to note that the trailer does not mention the Huns at all. Instead, China is being plagued by "northern invaders." The original Mulan legend is set in the Northern Wei era, 386 to 557 CE. The army is sent to protect against invaders from the Rouran Khaganate, a nomadic culture of historically disputed origin. The other antagonist, Bori Khan, could belong to this Khaganate. If this is the case, the 2020 version of the story is looking to remain much closer to the actual legend than the animated musical.
Production for 2020's Mulan has shown an emphasis on remaining more authentic than the animated version. Li's remarks hint that there is much more to the witch than what we've seen so far. There's no character like Xian in the original Mulan legend, so it will be interesting to see what kind of role she will have in the film and how it will affect Mulan's character.
The footage released of the film shows promise, despite the absence of some fan-favorite characters and songs from the animated original. This latest trailer has certainly given fans much more material to speculate over and decide for themselves whether to make Mulan Disney's next big, live-action hit or not.
Directed by Niki Caro, Disney's Mulan stars Yifei Liu as Mulan, Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan, and Yoson An as Cheng Honghui, with Gong Li as Xianniang and Jet Li as the Emperor. The film opens March 27, 2020.