How to watch Mulan (2020) online in Australia

With cinema closures not letting up any time soon, movie studios have begun to cosy up to the concept of releasing their movies early on VOD (video on-demand) services. Warner Bros. and Universal Studios went the way of digital rentals, offering up Birds of Prey and The Invisible Man on services like iTunes and Google Play. Disney also joined in on the early drops, pushing forward Frozen 2's home release, and dropping its brand-new Pixar joint Onward early on its subscription service Disney Plus.

Disney then pulled off a rather bold move for such a new streaming service, ditching its free trial right before it released Hamilton. Proving it will never be satisfied, Disney has added an all-new approach to the ever-evolving world of early theatrical releases, announcing it will release the 2020 live-action remake of Mulan on Disney Plus for an additional $34.99 on Friday, 4 September 2020.

Update: Mulan is available to stream now on Disney Plus. 

In Australia, Hoyts and Event Cinemas are open for business. But its widely accepted that the act of sitting in a crowded and stuffy cinema, chowing down on finger food, is maybe not for the best. Even with Australian cinemas reopening, Mulan has already been delayed a number of times in response to the global pandemic. The film was last set for a 21 August release, but there's been no news of a timely release from local cinema chains.

Rather than let the live-action adaptation gather dust on the shelf for eternity, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced the company would be releasing it on Disney Plus early to "meet the needs of consumers during this particular period".

Cinema or no cinema, your first chance to watch Mulan will be via Disney Plus on 4 September 2020 at the same time as the U.S. Chapek added that the film would cost Disney Plus subscribers an additional US$29.99 ($34.99 in Australia) to watch on Disney Plus. It kind of works like a life-long rental. You won't own a digital copy of Mulan but you will be able to stream it so long as your Disney Plus subscription is active. But then again, that's true of any Disney Plus subscriber past a certain point, so what you're actually paying for is early access.

Disney's been on a remake spree over the last few years, transforming its beloved back catalogue into live action spectacles, and sometimes, CGI horror shows. Mulan is the latest of these adaptations, and honestly, one of the most exciting. Mulan is directed from New Zealand director Jane Caro, and it stars Liu Yifei (The Return of the Condor Heroes) in the lead role as Fa Mulan, with Donnie Yen (Rogue One) as Commander Tung, and Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan.

If you missed the animated original, Mulan tells the story of a young warrior who must disguise herself as a man in order to join the Imperial Army in their fight against a Hun invasion.

It's a thrilling animated feature with some timeless tunes to sing along to. The original animated version is already streaming on Disney Plus, and it's well worth a rewatch if all this fuss has you nostalgic for Mulan and her fire-breathing, wisecracking sidekick Mushu.