Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan will not feature Mushu or songs. Director Niki Caro made the reveal in a new interview promoting the upcoming movie. It had been previously speculated that the movie was going to be missing these elements, but this is the first time that it has been officially confirmed.
“I think we can all appreciate that Mushu is irreplaceable. You know, the animated classic stands on its own in that regard,” director Niki Caro said. “In this movie, there is a creature representative — a spiritual representation of the ancestors, and most particularly of Mulan’s relationship with her father.” Caro went on to say there wouldn’t be an updated version of Mushu in her film.
In the original, Mushu is self-appointed as Fa Mulan’s guardian, devoting himself to protecting and guiding her as she attempts to pose as a male soldier in the Chinese army.
Mushu was absent in the movie’s first official trailer that landed last December, and now Caro has shared with Digital Spy why they decided to leave the memorable character out of the film altogether:
Directed by Niki Caro, Disney’s Mulan stars Yifei Liu as Mulan, Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan, and Yoson An as Cheng Honghui, with Gong Li as Xianniang and Jet Li as the Emperor. The film opens March 27.