DISNEY’S “Mulan” has begun production, and has unveiled the first look at star Liu Yifei in the titular role.

The actress is playing the heroine, who disguises herself as a man in order to spare her elderly father from having to join the military. Casting directors saw nearly 1,000 candidates for the role before finding the film’s lead.

Also among the cast for “Mulan” are Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Ron Yuan, Tzi Ma, Rosalind Chao, Cheng Pei-pei, Nelson Lee, Chum Ehelepola, Gong Li and Jet Li. Shooting will be in New Zealand and China.

“The Zookeeper’s Wife” filmmaker Niki Caro is directing “Mulan” for a 2020 release date. The film has a screenplay from Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Elizabeth Martin & Lauren Hynek. “Mulan” is based on Disney’s 1998 animated “Mulan,” which earned US$304.3 million globally and earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.

Producers on Disney’s remake include Jason T. Reed, Chris Bender and Jake Weiner. Executive producers are Barrie M. Osborne, Bill Kong and Tim Coddington.(SD-Agencies)