Disney's live-action Mulan movie includes numerous well-known big-screen martial artists in its cast. The latest flesh and blood remake of a popular Disney animated movie, Mulan follows on the 1998 film of the same name, based upon the legend of the female Chinese warrior Hua Mulan. While quite heavily fictionalized, as is typically the case for animated Disney movies with some historical basis released in the 1990s, the animated Mulan nevertheless captured the hearts of millions, while songs in the film such as "Reflection" and especially "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" continue to be beloved as Disney classics to this day.
The new take on Mulan is less whimsical and more akin to the wuxia subgenre, while eschewing the songs that were a hallmark of its predecessor. Though a divisive decision among fans of the original, this was arguably for the best, bearing in mind the creative direction that the new Mulan was geared towards. Despite this, it doesn't completely sever ties with the animated film, as seen with original Mulan voice actress Ming-Na Wen's cameo in the live-action update.
For fans of martial arts films and Asian cinema overall, Mulan also presents quite the gathering of some genuine legends of the genre. Though some will be newer faces to Western audiences, and younger viewers especially, all have made a undeniable mark on martial arts cinema throughout their respective careers.
Donnie Yen
Arguably Mulan's most instantly recognizable name to modern audiences, Donnie Yen is nothing short of a legend to martial arts movie fans. With an eclectic background in a wide range of different disciplines, Yen was a staple of Hong Kong movies throughout the '80s and '90s, but his breakout really came through 2005's Sha Po Lang (released in the west as Kill Zone.) Along with 2007's Flash Point, Yen would become a pioneer into bringing contemporary MMA into modern action films. However, he would become a true household name in portraying the title character in 2008's Ip Man.
The movie would see Yen play the famed Grandmaster of Wing Chun and mentor to the legendary Bruce Lee, and he would reprise the role in three sequels, with last year's Ip Man 4: The Finale acting as the concluding chapter to the series. Though the bulk of Yen's career has been made in Hong Kong, the early 2000s would see him involved in such Hollywood productions and Highlander: Endgame, Blade II, and Shanghai Knights. More recently, Yen also made scene-stealing Hollywood appearances as Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and as Xiang in xXx: Return of Xander Cage. In Mulan, Yen assumes the role of Commander Tung.
Jet Li
Once upon a time, Jet Li was a Wushu champion in his native China, with his career in movies beginning at the age of 19 in 1982's The Shaolin Temple. The film was a monumental success, spawning two sequels, while Li would go on to portray Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung in the Once Upon A Time in China series, save for the fourth and fifth entry. Among Li's many career highlights, he would also tackle the role of Chen Zhen in 1994's Fist of Legend, a remake of the Bruce Lee film Fist of Fury, while 2006's Fearless saw him portray the revered master Huo Yuanjia.
Li's career has been fairly quiet in recent years, making it conceivable that younger viewers may well be introduced to him for the first time through Mulan. Nevertheless, he's made a major impact on the stateside scene with such movies as Romeo Must Die, Kiss of The Dragon, and Unleashed, among others, while he would team with Jackie Chan for the first time in 2008's The Forbidden Kingdom (in which Mulan actress Liu Yifei also appeared as Golden Sparrow). He was also seen as Yin Yang in The Expendables trilogy, while he and Yen would duel on-screen in Once Upon A Time In China II and Hero. For Mulan, Li portrays the Emperor of China.
Jason Scott Lee
Portraying the villainous Bori Khan in Mulan, Jason Scott Lee is widely known for his performance as none other than Bruce Lee himself in 1993's Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. At the time, Lee was a newcomer to martial arts, studying Bruce Lee's fighting philosophy of Jeet Kune Do to portray him in the film and delivering an electrifying performance in the energetic action scenes of Dragon. The following year, Lee would also take part in another early live-action Disney remake, portraying Mowgli in 1994's The Jungle Book.
Lee would later be seen in other action-heavy roles, such as Soldier in 1998 (a stealth in-universe spinoff from Blade Runner), along with Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision in 2003. Lee would also appear in the 2007 comedy Balls of Fury, which carried quite clear influences from Enter the Dragon. Additionally, Lee would also take part in the documentary Secrets of Shaolin, in which he would train at China's legendary Shaolin Temple, while also appearing opposite Donnie Yen in the 2016 Netflix film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny.
Cheng Pei-pei
A name well-known to Asian cinema fans, Cheng Pei-pei's career stretches all the way back to the 1960's. Her breakthrough would come in the 1966 Shaw Brothers film Come Drink with Me, in which she portrayed Golden Swallow. She would later return to the role in 1968's Golden Swallow, while appearing in other Shaw Brothers productions such as Brothers Five, The Flying Dagger, and The Golden Sword.
For Western audiences, she is most widely known for her role in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, in which she portrayed the antagonist Jade Fox. Her performance in the film would also result in Cheng winning a Best Supporting Actress Award at the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards. For Mulan, Cheng Pei-pei appears in the role of The Matchmaker.
Ron Yuan
While not as widely known as the other names on this list, Ron Yuan has nevertheless been a fixture of martial arts films since the 90's. Yuan would be seen opposite Mark Dacascos in the 1997 cult action-comedy Drive, while also appearing in the Wesley Snipes-led The Art of War in 2000, the Jet Li-DMX vehicle Cradle 2 the Grave in 2003, and the aforementioned Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision.
Yuan's body of work also includes the 2009 underground fighting movie Blood and Bone opposite Michael Jai White, while his other appearances have included the Netflix series Marco Polo and the 2017 film Birth of the Dragon, loosely based upon Bruce Lee's real-life fight with Wong Jack-man, along with voicing Scorpion in the 2019 video game Mortal Kombat 11. Additionally, Yuan was also recently announced as director for the sequel the 2013 samurai movie 47 Ronin. In Mulan, Yuan is seen in the role of Sergeant Qiang.