Action star Donnie Yen wanted to sing in a musical Mulan

He may be better known for his impressive fighting skills on screen, but when Disney asked him to be in Mulan, he had one wish.

Donnie Yen may be a tough action star, but what he really wanted was to be in a musical.

The star of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Hero and the popular Ip Man franchise has built a formidable reputation as a martial arts expert, whether that’s in kickboxing, Muay Thai, karate or wushu.

But he couldn’t hide his disappointment when he was asked to be in Disney’s Mulan live-action remake only to find out it wasn’t a musical.

“The first question I asked them was will there be any singing, because, sign me up!” Yen recalled of his wish on a windy day on the Auckland set of Mulan, over the sound of the makeshift tent flapping, loud machines and horses cantering in the background against a green screen.

“Then I found out that they weren’t going to go down a musical direction, so I was a little disappointed. I had to tell my daughter, ‘Baba isn’t going to be able to sing in this.’”

The most expensive Disney live-action remake yet, with a budget of around $US200 million ($A305 million), Mulan will be a grounded war epic about the legendary female warrior who disguised herself as a man to take her ailing father’s place in the army.

Donnie Yen (right) with Yifei Liu and Yoson An in Mulan. Picture: Jasin Boland/Disney

One month out from its general release, its debut is beset by the coronavirus outbreak. In China, a key market for the film given the story’s provenance and a cast of well-known Chinese stars which also includes Gong Li and Jet Li, its 70,000 cinemas have been shut for the past month, with no signs of reopening anytime soon.

Disney has high hopes riding on the film, not just because of the money spent but also because it’s veering away from its thus-far commercially successful strategy of keeping live-action remakes similar in tone to their animated counterparts.

Mulan represents something different.

Mulan will be released in Australia on March 26.

Directed by New Zealander Niki Caro (Whale Rider, The Zookeeper’s Wife) and starring Chinese actor Yifei Liu in the title role, the drama won’t feature any of the musical numbers or the miniature talking dragon of the 1998 animated classic.

Yen, 56, has been in the business since 1983, starring in scores of films and TV shows, primarily in China and Hong Kong. To English-language audiences, he is best known for his Rogue One role as a force-sensitive blind warrior named Chirrut Imwe and as a xXx agent in xXx: Return Of Xander Cage.

All his on-screen fighting doesn’t naturally lend one to think Yen would make a musical star, but a quick search online unearths various video clips of Yen singing and playing the piano, including a stirring rendition of Elton John’s “Your Song”.

Both his parents were musically gifted, which could explain his penchant for stretching his vocal chords.

It was his role in Rogue One that led to his work on Mulan, where he plays a general and mentor to Mulan. His character has no equivalent in the 1998 movie.

“Alan Horn, the CEO of Disney film, approached me, probably because we had a relationship from Rogue One. I think I must have done something good so they called me and asked me if I wanted to be in Mulan. But I was indecisive about it at the time.”

Yen said there were many reasons for his initial reticence, including a full slate starring in and producing work for his own production company, which he runs with his wife Cecilia Wang. Finding a few months in his schedule to move to Auckland and New Zealand’s South Island, where the production also shot on location, was difficult.

But it was his love for the story, having watched the cartoon version countless times when his daughter was growing up, that convinced him to take the role.

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Yen with his wife Cecilia and daughter Jasmine in 2019. Picture: Edwin Koo/Getty Images

“For me, doing this type of movie wasn’t new territory, except that it’s spoken in English and it’s a Disney movie.

“But my daughter grew up watching Mulan. I watched it tons of times. She was a one-year-old (when it came out) and now she’s 15 (in 2018, at the time of the production). Actually, (my kids) are also why I did Rogue One.”

When a publicist interrupts to call time on the interview – it is a busy, live movie set and Yen is needed elsewhere – he insists on staying for a few more minutes.

“I’m just getting to the fun part of the conversation,” he told her.

Turning back to the media, Yen said he wanted to do the movie for his wife as well as his daughter because of Mulan’s female empowerment theme.

“This movie means a lot – it’s Mulan, it’s a heroic, female, iconic superhero; it’s for children; it’s directed by a woman.

“I think it’s a really meaningful thing to do, as a world citizen, not only as an actor. It’s really meaningful if I can help in any way. If I can support a film about empowering women, then it’s also a tribute to my wife and daughter as well.”

And with that, the tough action hero has to get back to work, but having exposed his soft underbelly.

Mulan is in cinemas from Thursday, March 26

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The writer travelled to Auckland as a guest of Disney