Mulan producer says Li Shang was removed because of #MeToo movement
2 March 2020, 15:39
Disney's remake of Mulan starring Crystal Liu and Donnie Yen is set for release in March 2020, and producers say it will be closer to the original story than the 1998 animation, despite missing Li Shang as a character.
Disney is in the midst of revamping all of our favourite classic movies - we've already had Aladdin, The Lion King, and now the company is putting the final touches on the live-action remake of Mulan, which is set for release at the end of March.
READ MORE: Mulan: Will Mushu, Shang and the original songs be in the live-action Disney film?
Despite everyone's excitement, fans have noticed that the new version has a particularly important character missing, and now Disney are trying to address it.
In the new version, starring Crystal Liu, hero love interest General Li Shang won't be a character, and despite the creators doing it with good intentions after they said the remake will come closer to the original story than the 1998 animation, it's actually caused some backlash over representation of different backgrounds.
#Mulan producer says removing Li Shang from the film was influenced by 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'
— Fandom (@getFANDOM) February 27, 2020
(via @Collider | https://t.co/WO52WqucvT) pic.twitter.com/no72erYoYW
In a statement, Disney said that the decision was influenced by the #MeToo movement and they didn't think 'Having a commanding officer that is also the sexual love interest was very comfortable' and 'didn't think it was appropriate'.
While it seems like a good thing on the surface, people have since commented that removing Li Shang from the movie erases bisexual representation. Shang originally falls in love with Ping before realising it's Mulan dressed as a boy.
Fans have been quick to accuse the production giant of using '#MeToo' as a 'cover up' and that his character was shining the light on sexism women like Mulan face daily.
Naturally, as the statement came to light, the internet had a lot of thoughts, and it seems like the movie perhaps won't be breaking the box office the way we first thought.
Lies. They needed to get rid of Disney’s Bi Prince. Li Shang started to fall in love with Ping before he knew Ping was really Mulan.
— Jykia Hooker 💜⚡️ (@BoredNerdGirl) February 27, 2020
NO. Li Shang HELPS the Me Too movement. He starts off sexist to show Mulan's struggles, but then he changes and becomes the girl's romantic partner. You CANNOT be this stupid.
— 🔮Reikon the Psychic type🔮 (@PsychicVisions0) February 28, 2020
So this made them uncomfortable and not a woman falling in love with a beast?! 😂🤦🏻♀️
— Force of Light Entertainment 🎙 (@ForceofLightEn1) February 27, 2020
Reminder they're only doing this to remove the LGBT subtext from the original. Don't waste your money.
— Doom: New Horizons (@Yeenie_Mcbeenie) February 28, 2020
it’s a lie to cover up the fact that they cant show 2 dudes (mulan in drag) being flirty because disney are pussies and need money
— june (@shoe0nhead) February 28, 2020
This comes after last year's controversy which saw fans boycott the making of the new movie, after lead actress, Crystal Liu, backed the police brutality used in the ongoing Hong Kong protests.
She shared an Instagram post that read: "I support Hong Kong's police, you can beat me up now," followed by, "What a shame for Hong Kong." Liu added the hashtag "IAlsoSupportTheHongKongPolice".
Well, we can't say we're not looking forward to what Rotten Tomatoes reviews have to say about this... and hey, there's always the animated one.
