It’s time to roundup the news stories that caught my eye over the past week. A week with a lot of Disney news, and further developments in the saga surrounding The Batman.

Mulan live action film gets its director – Disney look to have found their director for their in the works live action remake of the 1998 film Mulan. Niki Caro, the New Zealand director who is probably most well known for her 2002 Whale Rider is Disney’s choice for the job. The cast of the film is still not yet know, nor how closely it will stick to the animated original, but Disney are searching for a Chinese actress to play the part. Mulan is scheduled for release in 2018 and will follow Live Action remakes of Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Sleeping Beauty. What do you think of the choice of director? Are you a fan of these live action remakes?

The Batman’s troubles continue – After Ben Affleck stepped down as the director of The Batman a couple of weeks there have been a lot of question marks surrounding the film. It seemed like the ship may have been righted when Warner Brothers were in talks with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves. However those talks broke a few days ago, and once again leaves The Batman without a director. And it isn’t the first DCEU film to undergo director trouble, as The Flash has already lost two directors as well. Do you think that the DC Universe is in trouble? Who would you like to see replace Affleck as director?

Robert Downey Jr and Richard Linklater teaming up – Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr will be working with Boyhood director Richard Linklater on his upcoming film. They will be bringing the story John Brinkley, the 1920s and 30s charlatan who became successful through his use of fake medicines and the radio. The story was recently told in ‘Man of the People’ an episode of the Reply All podcast that the film will be based on.

The Raid to get English language remake – Gareth Evans’ Indonesian martial arts film The Raid is confirmed to be getting an English language remake. XYZ Films who produced the original version and are producing the remake announced that Joe Carnahan, who previously made Smokin’ Aces, the 2010 version of The A-Team, The Grey, and is attached to direct Bad Boys For Life, will be taking the directorial duties, with Evans remaining on as a producers. They also announced that Frank Grillo, who played Crossbones in the last two Captain America films, will be appearing in the film. How do you feel about the Raid being remade?

Donald Glover and James Earl Jones for The Lion King – Jon Favreau announced the actor who will play two of the main characters in the upcoming live action Lion King adaptation. Favreau tweeted an image of Glover with the caption “I just can’t wait to be king. #Simba”. Glover is known for his work on Community and Atlanta, has an upcoming role as young Lando Calrissian, and he releases music as Childish Gambino, now he’ll be bringing his talent in the role previously voiced by Matthew Broderick. Meanwhile James Earl Jones will be reviving his role as Mufasa. Favreau said that he was “looking forward to working with this legend”. Jones is famous for bringing his distinctive voice to Mufasa, one of the most beloved characters in Disney’s history, and now he’s back. How do you feel about James Earl Jones returning? Are you excited to have him back or worried that this will be too close to the original?