In what the producers are calling “the perfect opportunity to bring to the screen the ideal synthesis of western and Chinese movie making skills with both a top actress and director, each of whom is globally recognized for their commercial and artistic success in equal measure,” Mulan will find her way back to the big screen as an independently financed American production directed by Jan de Bont, and starring Zhang Ziyi.

Jan de Bont is of course the director of Speed and Twister (and Director of Photography on gems like The Hunt for The Red October and Die Hard), and Ziyi is the star of successful Chinese exports like Hero and House of Flying Daggers. While Ziyi has kept working in Chinese and Korean films since her last hits, De Bont has been fairly quiet since 2003’s Tomb Raider, which he directed. While many of the producers have worked with Disney on recent projects, the massive studio is not backing the new film.

Mulan will begin filming in Shanghai soon and is expected to wrap in January.

Source | The Hollywood Reporter