Disney sets release date for live-action 'Mulan'

In keeping with its company-wide mandate to deliver multicultural storytelling, Disney will release a live-action Mulan movie starring a Chinese actress on Nov. 2, 2018, the studio announced Tuesday.

Disney is excited about the Mulan screenplay, which the studio bought last year from writers Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin before it brought on Jurassic World writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver to rewrite the script.

This more nuanced and elaborate version of Mulan will combine the legendary ballad and the 1998 animated movie, which grossed more than $300 million worldwide.

Disney has put Mulan on the fast track to production as it continues to reimagine classic stories for contemporary audiences. The studio hopes to build on the success of female-driven films such as Maleficent, Cinderella and hopefully Beauty and the Beast, which had its teaser trailer viewed 91.8 million times in its first 24 hours online, besting Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Chris Bender and Jake Weiner will produce Mulan with Jason Reed, and Disney will begin a global casting search for the right Chinese actress to play the empowered heroine.

Mulan will arrive in theaters one week before a new take on Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, two weeks before an untitled sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and three weeks before Disney's own animated movie Gigantic, which reimagines the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.