Disney has reinvigorated their live-action division by taking some of their classic animated titles and turning them into live-action films. It’s a model that has proven to be very lucrative for the franchise as they release one hit after another, with their most recent hit, Beauty and the Beast grossing $1.2 billion worldwide. The studio is well into the development of live-action adaptations like Aladdin, Dumbo, and Mulan, which has now found its lead star.

According to new reports, Chinese actress Liu Yifei, also known as Crystal Liu, will play Mulan in the live-action adaptation set to be directed by Niki Caro. More on the story below.

Beauty and The Beast singlehandedly won the box office over last weekend with a record-setting $170 million. It’s not like this is the first time that the studio has found success in adapting their animated classics, nor will it be the last. They are already developing live-action adaptations of Dumbo, Aladdin, Sword in the Stone, and even Winnie The Pooh. But the one adaptation that seems to be getting a lot more attention, the wrong kind, is Mulan.

More on the story below.

Disney’s search for a director to helm their live-action adaptation of Mulan is over.

Following an exhaustive search, the studio has chosen MacFarland, USA‘s Niki Caro to direct the film. She will be joining Bill Kong (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), who will serve as an executive producer. More on the story below.

Last week we learned that there were two studios involved in dueling live-action Mulan projects. One is from Disney, while the other is from Sony. Both promised that their films would prominently feature an Asian cast and have an Asian filmmaker in the director’s chair.

Disney had their hopes set on Ang Lee directing their project, but the director passed. Interestingly enough, it was thought that Sony would give their live-action Mulan to Lee, considering that they are distributing his latest directorial effort, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. But it looks like that isn’t happening either as Sony has tapped Game of Thrones director Alex Graves to make their live-action Mulan. More on the story below.

Disney has put their live-action Mulan on the fast track to production by scheduling the film for a fall 2018 release. The studio is moving quickly to find an all Asian cast and an Asian director. Disney made an offer to Academy Award winner Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), but he declined.

But the mouse house isn’t the only studio working on a Mulan project. Sony is working on one as well, and the race is on. More on the story below.