Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Ming-Na Wen voiced Mulan in the original 1998 animated feature, and 22 years later, the actress was given the opportunity to return to that world in Niki Caro's live-action film. Credited as "Esteemed Guest," she appears at the end of the Disney+ "Premier Access" release to introduce Mulan to the Emperor.
Talking to The New York Times, Wen explained how that cameo role came to be. "It all started with the fans tweeting about it, saying, 'You have to be a part of it!' I asked my manager and my agent if that would be a possibility because I thought that would be kind of fun."
"Then I met with the producer Jason Reed and he loved the idea, but at that time I was doing Agents of SHIELD, so scheduling-wise, it was kind of a logistical nightmare because Mulan was shooting in New Zealand," she continued. "They had written a scene for me to be a part of, but the schedule just didn't work out."
Wen would go on to explain that her role was originally "the potential mother-in-law for the matchmaker scene," but ABC couldn't allow it. "The producers of Agents of SHIELD just threw up their hands, 'We can't lose you for a month!' I totally understood and I'm always very Zen about this stuff. I said, 'Look, if it was meant to be, it was meant to be. We all tried, and it's too bad."
"So we sort of let it go, and then Jason and Niki [Caro, the director] came up with this great idea where instead of shooting an entire scene, I'd just make a cameo at the very end to announce Mulan to the emperor." That proved to be even more effective as Wen's cameo at the end of Mulan proves to be a wonderful surprise for fans of The Mandalorian actress.
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