International action stars Jet Li and Donnie Yen shocked moviegoers when they agreed to co-star in Disney’s live-action, non-musical version of Mulan, which features Li as the Emperor and Yen as Commander Tung. But the two longtime friends did so for a simple, sweet reason: for their daughters, as they reveal in this Fatherly-exclusive behind-the-scenes clip from Mulan. The film will arrive tomorrow, October 6, on digital.
Mulan was set to open on March 27, but Disney shifted the release in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The studio then elected to release the film in the U.S. as a premium title (for a fee) on its brand-new Disney+ platform, and now as a digital title. Yifei Liu stars as the titular heroine, a gutsy young Chinese woman who disguises herself as a man in order to fight for herself, her family, and her people.
But back to our Mulan father figures. Yen, who is Chinese, counts among his credits, Drunken Tai Chi, Iron Monkey, Hero (with Li), Ip Man, and Rogue One. The father of three kids, including one girl, plays the plucky Mulan’s mentor in the new film. Li, who is also Chinese and a dad of four daughters, is a martial arts icon whose films span from Shaolin Temple and Hero to Romeo Must Die and The Expendables.
Fun fact for all the dads and daughters out there: As a cool touch for fans of the animated 1990s classic, Ming-Na Wen, who voiced Mulan in the original film, makes a cameo appearance here. Look for her in a scene in which she introduces Mulan to the Emperor.
Mulan will be available on Digital download — even if you don’t have Disney+ — on Tuesday, October 6, 2020.
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This article was originally published on Oct. 5, 2020
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