Mulan featurette gives sneak peek of actors' weapon, martial arts skills

When Disney announced it will be making a live-action version of the original animated film Mulan, fans were ecstatic to finally witness a more realistic telling of Hua Mulan, a young woman in China who posed as a man and enlisted in the army to take her father’s place in the upcoming war against the Huns.

Now, the excitement went up a notch thanks to a new featurette showcasing the bow and arrow skills of lead star Liu Yifei and the captivating swordplay of Donnie Yen – who was so quick with the sword that director Niki Caro shot the scene twice, the second in slow-motion, to ensure that she didn’t miss anything.

Called “Epic Filmmaking,” the new featurette gives fans a glimpse of some never before seen footage of the stars in action, in front of and behind the camera.

“We’ve assembled the most extraordinary cast for this movie led by Liu Yifei. Nobody else could have played the role of Mulan. We put her through a grueling physical assessment, she’s an accomplished martial artist,” Caro said.

“One of my favorite moments was shooting Donnie Yen’s martial arts skills. As Commander Tung, he does a sword display in front of all the recruits. The way he moves a sword, it moves so fast, I had to shoot the sequence again in slow motion just so I could see what he was doing. He is astonishing.” Caro admits. 

Mulan, the live-action movie, streams exclusively on Disney Plus on Sept. 4.