Disney adapting animated classics into live-action films has proven to be a very lucrative business model. With Cinderella grossing over $330 million worldwide in three weeks, and a live-action Beauty and The Beast, starring Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, and Luke Evans, in the works, the studio has just announced that an adaptation of the 1998 animated film Mulan is currently under development.

THR reports that Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek have penned the script, and that the film will be produced by Chris Bender and J.C. Spink (We’re the Millers).

Hit the jump for more.

Based on the Chinese legend Hua Mulan, the animated 1998 film of the same name centers on a female protagonist named Mulan, who voluntarily joins the Chinese army by disgusting herself as a man, taking the place of her injured father so that he would not have to go to war. She is teamed up with Mushu (voiced by Eddie Murphy), a dragon who helps mentor her during her journey of becoming a legendary warrior who helped the Chinese army defeat the huns. Though she wasn’t technically a princess, Mulan was a daughter of a prominent dignitary.

The animated film featured the voice talents of Ming-Na Wen (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), who voiced the title character, and BD Wong (Jurassic Park, Jurassic World) who voiced a superior Chinese military officer and Mulan’s love interest. It also was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award, and earned $303.4 million at the box office worldwide.

Disney adapting their animated films into live-action ones has proven to be a huge success for the studio. Last year’s Maleficent grossed over $758.4 million worldwide, and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland grossed $1.02 billion worldwide. Cinderella has earned universal acclaim from both critics and audiences, and it continues to be a hit at the box office. And everyone is eager to see what Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast will be like. So if that success continues on, there is no doubt that Mulan can replicate it.

Writing team Martin and Hynek are relatively new to the industry, and unlike Disney’s Cinderella and Belle, Mulan reportedly will draw similarities to the legend of the character, not the animated counterpart.

[Source: THR]