"Mulan" star Jet Li is known to keep his private life away from the spotlight. But on Christmas Day, the Chinese actor proudly shared a rare photo of his two beautiful daughters as he extended a holiday greeting to his fans around the world.
Li is seen standing in between Jane, 18, and Jada, 15 in the Christmas photo he shared on Instagram. The family was dressed in black, but the girls towered over their dad because they wore platform shoes.
The girls' mom, retired actress Nina Li Chi, wasn't in the photo but she has been married to the Hollywood star since 1999. None of their daughters have shown an inclination to follow in their parents' footsteps so far, but Li revealed in a Chinese television interview that the girls had been the main reasons why he agreed to be in Disney's "Mulan" live-action movie.
Li shared that he initially turned down "Mulan" due to the script and the talent fee. However, his daughters made him see that he needs to take part in a Disney movie that will focus on Chinese culture.
According to Variety, Li will play the Chinese emperor who orders the soldiers to prepare for war in "Mulan." Lui Yifei will play the titular role, and the studio has also tapped Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Jimmy Wong, Yoson An, Ron Yuan, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Doua Moua to complete the cast.
Though "Mulan" will follow in the lead of the 1998 animated film from Disney, there will expectedly be changes and updates to the live-action version. For one thing, the comedic little red dragon Mushu will not be in this new version and music won't be an integral part of the movie, unlike the cartoon original.
Production for "Mulan" began last summer in New Zealand under the direction of Niki Caro. Though the director is not Chinese, Disney hired a team of Chinese cultural consultants and Hong Kong producer Bill Kong to help put a film that will accurately portray the characters and the legend of Mulan, according to Empire Online.
The story of "Mulan" was based on an ancient Chinese tale about a brave female warrior named Hua Mulan who pretended to be a man to be able to join the army and fight the invaders north of China. Mulan masqueraded her identity to protect her ailing father after the emperor ordered that one man in each family must fight with the army.
Disney's "Mulan" live-action has a March 2020 release in the U.S. However; it's still uncertain if the film will also be out in China.
