Mulan producer reveals why Li Shang isn’t in the live-action remake

Disney’s live-action adaptation of Mulan arrives this month, and to say it will be different from the 1998 animated classic would be a vast understatement. Not only have the songs and some of the characters from the original been removed from the story, but the film was recently given a PG-13 rating, suggesting it’ll tackle more serious topics than its animated counterpart.

While the reasoning behind many of the live-action movie’s omissions make sense — Disney wanted to be more respectful to the film’s Chinese origins this time around, hence the removal of the dragon Mushu — the removal of one character is more confusing. Many have questioned why this version of the story excludes Mulan’s love interest, Captain Li Shang, voiced by BD Wong in the original (singing voice by Donny Osmond, FYI). And now, they have their answer.

Speaking to Collider, producer Jason Reed said that the team was uneasy about the power dynamics of Mulan’s relationship with Shang, particularly in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement. “I think particularly in the time of the #MeToo movement, having a commanding officer that is also the sexual love interest was very uncomfortable and we didn’t think it was appropriate,” Reed explained.

Given that the romance between the two was totally consensual in the animated film, this comment may leave some fans scratching their heads. But Reed has a fair point about Shang being Mulan’s superior officer, thus making their relationship just a little inappropriate, although not all fans will agree.

Reed also explained that the filmmakers split Shang’s character into two other characters, meaning his presence isn’t totally absent from the film — his characteristics have just been spread among a few new faces. “One became Commander Tung (Donnie Yen), who serves as her surrogate father and mentor in the course of the movie. The other is Honghui (Yoson An), who is Mulan’s equal in the squad.”

While the connection between Shang and the new commander is obvious, we have to wonder what Honghui’s role will be. Given that he’s Mulan’s equal — and shares some of Shang’s qualities — could these two wind up together in the end? Of course, Mulan doesn’t need a love interest at all for the movie to work. But we’ll see how her new ending compares to the one in the animated movie when Mulan hits theaters on March 27.

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