Travis, Ben (September 30, 2019). "Mulan Live-Action Remake Taking 'David Lean Or Kurosawa Approach'- Exclusive Image". Empire. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019 . Retrieved September 30, 2019. a b c d "Disney's 'Mulan' Adds Jason Scott Lee". The Hollywood Reporter. July 25, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018 . Retrieved July 26, 2018. A call to boycott the film began when Yifei Liu reshared an image posted by the People's Daily, an official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. The image included a quote from Chinese reporter Fu Guohao who worked for the state-owned tabloid Global Times and was subsequently assaulted by protesters during the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests: "I support Hong Kong police. You can beat me now. What a shame for Hong Kong." This sparked international controversy, with Liu being accused of supporting police brutality in Hong Kong. The hashtag #BoycottMulan started trending, which advocated for a boycott of the film. [97] [98] [99] In response to the controversy, Liu was not present at the 2019 D23 Expo, despite presenting an exclusive sneak peek of the film to fans. [100] Reception Premium video on demand Yeung, Jessie (August 16, 2019). "Hong Kong protesters call for 'Mulan' boycott after star went public in support of police". CNN. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019 . Retrieved August 16, 2019. Shuler, Skyler (February 13, 2020). "Songwriter Matthew Wilder Discusses "Reflection" In Disney's 'Mulan' ". www.thedisinsider.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020 . Retrieved February 27, 2020. [ bettersourceneeded]

Gibson, Kelsie (December 11, 2020). "15 Nostalgic Moments That Took Us to Any Year but 2020". PopSugar UK. Group Nine Media. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020 . Retrieved December 12, 2020.

Van Blaricom, Mirjana (February 1, 2021). "25th Satellite Awards Nominees for Motion Pictures and Television Announced". International Press Academy . Retrieved February 1, 2021. Sun, Rebecca. "Disney's Live-Action 'Mulan' Finds Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017 . Retrieved February 16, 2017.

It’s an understatement to say that a lot has happened since the trailer for Disney’s live-action Mulan was released last year, shortly after Hong Kong’s controversial extradition law was put forward, which sparked immediate protests. The ongoing assault on democracy in Hong Kong has dominated international headlines, with the arrests of pro-democracy activists, newspaper editors and government legislators. With its original cinema release put on hold due to the coronavirus epidemic, Mulan is now emerging to a vastly different political landscape. Disney received some criticism for not hiring an Asian director. In a February 2020 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Niki Caro responded to the criticism by saying "Although it's a critically important Chinese story and it's set in Chinese culture and history, there is another culture at play here, which is the culture of Disney, and that the director, whoever they were, needed to be able to handle both — and here I am." [89] In an August 2020 interview with Film School Rejects, Caro responded further to the criticism, saying "Firstly, I resist the idea that you tell somebody who can tell what story. That sounds a little bit like censorship to me. An artist will express themselves, and the burden of responsibility is on the art. That will be judged — and should be judged. The other side of it is that more diverse people need to be allowed to tell stories. That's what it comes down to. The people who are hired for all kinds of stories need to be more diverse. It can't just be white people being hired to make movies, no matter what the subject matter is. Our culture is going to be richer for the more diversity there is, and the art, the movies, the television, it will be better. The more this conversation is being had, the more that diverse artists are given opportunities." [90] Removal of Li Shang Katz, Brandon (September 8, 2020). " 'Mulan' Drove a Huge Surge of New Disney+ Sign-Ups Despite Boycotts". The Observer. Archived from the original on September 10, 2020 . Retrieved September 8, 2020. Annual Film Awards (2020) – Online Film & Television Association". Online Film & Television Association Awards. Archived from the original on March 15, 2021 . Retrieved August 28, 2023. Disney's Mulan Is Even MORE Homoerotic in Live-Action, if That's Possible". CBR. September 5, 2020. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020 . Retrieved September 19, 2020.

Aja Romano of Vox wrote, "The Mulan remake jettisons everything great about Disney's animated classic and delivers nothing new" and " Mulan 's few bright spots can't save it from clunky writing". [126] Disney criticised for filming Mulan in China's Xinjiang province". BBC News. September 7, 2020. Archived from the original on September 8, 2020 . Retrieved September 7, 2020. Erbland, Kate (June 26, 2020). "Disney Postpones 'Mulan' Theatrical Opening Again to August 21". IndieWire. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020 . Retrieved June 26, 2020.