Disney's Mulan Trailer Arrives, Animated Classic Becomes a Live-Action Epic

Yesterday we passed along the news that the trailer for Disney and director Niki Caro's live-action remake of the animated classic Mulan starring Liu Yifei and Donnie Yen would be hitting today. And low and behold, that's just what we have For you guys this evening. You can go ahead and check it out below!

I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to checking out this live-action take on Mulan. After all, while it seems like every classic Disney animated movie is getting the remake treatment these days, Mulan was the only Disney flick I watched growing up and actually thought, "This would make a great live-action movie!' For some reason, I never said that about The Lion King. Not sure why.

Related: Disney's Mulan Remake Lines Up Massive $300 Million Budget?

While it's sad that fan-favorite character Mushu (who was voiced by Eddie Murphy in the original movie) has been replaced with a phoenix this time around, we do know that Mulan's cricket will still be a character and will be voiced by Jun Yu. So that's something for all of us semi-life-long Mulan fans to hold on to.

For those that might not know, this upcoming live-action remake of Mulan is coming our way via director Niki Caro (The Zookeeper's Wife, McFarland, USA) and it stars Liu Yifei as the titular hero, Hua Mulan, along with Ip Man and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story star Donnie Yen as Commander Tung. Caro will be taking the helm of the new version from a screenplay written by Elizabeth Martin, Lauren Hynek, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver. Their script is, of course, based on Disney's original animated classic which was written by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer based on a story by Robert D. San Souci based on Hua Mulan by Guo Maoqian.

Yifei and Yen's co-stars are set to include Jason Scott Lee as the film's main villain Bori Khan, a Hun warrior leader intent on avenging his father's death, and Yoson An as Mulan's rival turned love interest, Chen Honghui. Tzi Ma joins them as Mulan's father, Hua Zhou along with Jet Li as The Emperor, Ron Yuan as Sergeant Qiang, and Nelson Lee as The Chancellor. Soldiers in Commander Tung's unit includes Chen Tang as Yao, Jimmy Wong as Ling, and Doua Moua as Po.

New characters set to be introduced in this live-action version include Gong Li as a powerful and malevolent witch named Xian Lang; Xana Tang as Mulan's sister, Hua Xiu, and Utkarsh Ambudkar and Chum Ehelepola as con artists named Skatch and Ramtish. The remake is produced by Chris Bender, Tendo Nagenda, Jason Reed, and Jake Weiner. Harry Gregson-Williams will compose the score for this new version while Mandy Walker will handle the film's cinematography, and the whole thing will be edited together by David Coulson. Walt Disney Studios will get down to business and release the movie here in the United States on March 27, 2020. This trailer comes to us via Walt Disney Studios.

Topics: Mulan, Disney

Writer for Arrow In the Head, Dread Central and Movieweb.

Disney's Mulan Trailer Arrives, Animated Classic Becomes a Live-Action Epic

Soska Sisters Put Disturbing Spin on Cronenberg Classic

One of the upcoming horror movies that I'm most interested in checking out as soon as possible is The Soska Sisters' remake of A History of Violence and Eastern Promises director David Cronenberg's Rabid starring Laura Vandervoort. And if you are looking forward to The Soska Sisters' Rabid as well, then today you'll be glad to hear we not only have the movie's first trailer but word that the flick will be hosting its world premiere at this year's London FrightFest Film Festival on August 26, 2019.

Again, I'm really looking forward to checking out The Soska Sisters' remake as soon as I can. If for no other reason than I've been waiting for Jen and Sylvia Soska to make a true new classic of the horror genre for years now. Currently, they are known for some mini-classics of the horror genre which include See No Evil 2 starring Kane, Danielle Harris, and Katharine Isabelle, American Mary with Katharine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo, and Tristan Risk, and Dead Hooker in a Trunk with Loyd Bateman, Donald Charge, and Agnes Soska.

David Cronenberg's original horror classic starred Marilyn Chambers as a young woman named Rose who develops a taste for human blood after undergoing experimental plastic surgery. As is always the case with experimental plastic surgery in horror movies, young Rose's victims turn into rabid, blood-thirsty zombies who proceed to infect others, creating a city-wide epidemic. No word on just how closely this remake will follow the plot details of the original movie. But that said we do know that at least the basic plot is intact and Laura Vandervoort stars in this remake as Rose, a young woman who suffers a disfiguring accident, and then she undergoes an experimental stem-cell treatment that leads to unintended consequences.

Related: First Look at Laura Vandervoort in Rabid Remake Will Give You Nightmares

Vandervoort's costars include Ben Hollingsworth as Brad, a fashion photographer, Phil Brooks as Billy, Greg Bryk, Stephen McHattie, Ted Atherton as Dr. William Burroughs, Hanneke Talbot as Chelsea, Rose's best friend, Mackenzie Gray as Gunter, a fashion designer, and AJ Mendez as Kira. Jen and Sylvia Soska directed this Rabid remake from a screenplay they co-wrote along with John Serge based on the original 1977 film by David Cronenberg. Michael Walker produces this new version along with Paul LaLonde and John Vidette. Back 40 Pictures, Telefilm Canada, and Ontario Media Development Corporation are behind the movie which Shout! Studios will distribute here in the United States later this year. Meanwhile, as mentioned above, the movie will be hosting its world premiere at this year's London FrightFest Film Festival on August 26, 2019.

Meanwhile, David Cronenberg directed the 1977 movie from an original screenplay he wrote himself. John Dunning produced, and Marilyn Chambers' costars included Frank Moore, Joe Silver, and Howard Ryshpan. René Verzier handled the first film's cinematography, and Jean LaFleur edited it all together. Dunning/Link/Reitman was the production company behind the original movie which Cinépix Film Properties and New World Pictures released into a theater near your parents on April 8, 1977. This trailer comes to us via Vimeo.

Topics: Rabid

Writer for Arrow In the Head, Dread Central and Movieweb.

Soska Sisters Put Disturbing Spin on Cronenberg Classic

Jacob's Ladder Remake Trailer Gives the Classic Thriller a Creepy Twist

The Jacob's Ladder remake trailer is finally here after years of waiting. The project has been in the works since 2013 and has gone through several changes behind-the-scenes since it was initially announced. The goal the whole time was to make a movie that paid homage to the original while making something contemporary. The original Jacob's Ladder came out in 1990 and starred Tim Robbins as a Vietnam veteran who is dealing with the loss of his young son and begins to have flashbacks, along with visions of terrifying demons.

Vertical Entertainment has picked up the Jacob's Ladder remake and they released the first trailer today. It looks intense and creepy, but one has to wonder if this is something horror fans really want to see. The movie has been on the backburner since it was shot in 2016 and has had more than a few release date changes since them. With that being said, The DISH Network will premiere the remake in July exclusively and then it will get a theatrical run beginning August 23rd.

In the Jacob's Ladder remake, Jacob Singer is getting his life back together after his brother is killed in Afghanistan. Jacob seems to have it all. He has a beautiful wife, a newborn child, and a successful career as surgeon in a VA hospital. However, things start to shift when a stranger approaches Jacob and reveals that his brother is actually alive and living in an underground shelter with other homeless vets. Jacob begins hallucinating, believes he is being followed by violent attackers, and becomes paranoid about the truth of what really happened to his brother because he never saw the dead body. When he discovers that his brother is alive and addicted to an experimental drug, he uncovers a secret he never could have been prepared for.

Related: Jacob's Ladder Remake Reunites Michael Ealy with Perfect Guy Director

With the DISH debut of the Jacob's Ladder remake before the theatrical release, it would seem that the studio does not have much faith in the long-talked about project. It's taken six years to get to this point and there have been a lot of changes to the script, which might not bode well for the movie at all. However, this is all speculation and the horror remake could end up being quite good, though one has to imagine we would have seen it a lot sooner than now if that were the case.

The Jacob's Ladder remake trailer features about two-minutes of footage. It gives a good explanation as to what the story is about as we watch Michael Ealy's version of Jacob Singer starts to go off the rails. The movie was directed by David M. Rosenthal from a script written by Jeff Buhler and Sarah Thorp. In addition to Ealy, the remake also stars Jesse Williams and Nicole Beharie. You can watch the trailer for the Jacob's Ladder remake below, thanks to the Vertical Entertainment channel.

Topics: Jacobs Ladder

Writer for Movieweb since 2017. Enjoys playing Catan when not writing about superheroes and Star Wars.

Jacob's Ladder Remake Trailer Gives the Classic Thriller a Creepy Twist