Mulan: Why Was Li Shang Dropped From Disney's Live-Action ...

WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Mulan, available now through Premier Access on Disney+.

In the years since the initial release of Disney's animated classic, Mulan, her love interest, Li Shang, has gained a lot of popularity, partly because many see him as Disney's first bisexual character. While Mulan and Shang don't get together until after he finds out that she is actually a woman, many believe that his attraction to her started when he still knew her as Ping, a male soldier. As a result, Shang has garnered quite the following.

When fans learned that Shang would not be appearing in Disney's live-action remake, they were outraged. Some speculated that the filmmakers were trying to downplay the homoerotic undertones of the relationship between Shang and the disguised Mulan. In reality, the filmmakers claimed that they were influenced by the #MeToo Movement, finding it inappropriate for Mulan's love interest to be her commanding officer.

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Considering how poorly the animated film performed in China, Disney made an active effort to appeal to the Chinese market in its live-action film. Since film and television shows that portray homosexuality are banned in China, it makes sense that Disney would try to exclude this from the remake. Nevertheless, the filmmakers still included a love interest for Mulan, and although there's no explicit portrayal of homosexuality, the undertones persist. Like Shang, many believe that her new love interest, Chen Honghui, is attracted to Mulan before he finds out that she's a woman. In fact, some say the homoerotic moments are even more prevalent in the live-action film than in the animated film.

To avoid potential issues with a romance between Mulan and her boss, Shang's character was split in two. Mulan's commanding officer is General Tung and her new love interest is Chen Honghui, a fellow soldier. Her relationship with the general is more akin to one between a mentor and a prodigy, with General Tung encouraging her to cultivate her skills and Mulan almost confessing her secret to him out of guilt. Tung even hopes that the young soldier will become his son-in-law before he finds out that she's a woman. While he has the option to execute her upon discovering her secret, Tung chooses to spare Mulan as Shang did in the animated movie. In the end, he forgives Mulan for deceiving him.

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It's not hard to see the influence the #MeToo Movement had on Honghui's character. Unlike Shang, Honghui is a soldier just like Mulan. They start off as rivals, and although he does try to befriend her, she keeps him at arm's length for fear that he'll discover her secret. When the other soldiers make fun of Mulan's description of an ideal woman, he tells her not to worry about what the others think. He even let her know that he sees her as an equal and his opinion doesn't change when he finds out that she's been lying about her gender. When the time comes, Honghui is the first to stand up for Mulan and he convinces General Tung to listen to her. Not only is Honghui on equal footing with Mulan, but he's also more supportive of her throughout the story.

Despite the filmmakers' best efforts, most fans feel that the changes were unnecessary. While Shang is in a position of power over Mulan in the animated film, the two only get together after the war is over and Mulan is no longer a soldier. In spite of his attraction to her, Shang does not use his position to pressure Mulan into a relationship. Instead, their relationship appears to be built on mutual respect and it develops after they fight side by side to save the Emperor. Even though the filmmakers may have had good intentions, many argue that Mulan and Shang's romance wasn't problematic. Nevertheless, it's difficult to say whether or not this relationship would've translated well in a more serious, live-action adaptation.

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Directed by Niki Caro, Disney's live-action Mulan stars Yifei Liu as Mulan, Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan and Yoson An as Chen Honghui, with Gong Li as Xianniang and Jet Li as the Emperor. The film is now available through Premier Access on Disney+.

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