Phantom Blade Zero will reveal Donnie Yen’s hidden kung fu role on August 12
The trailer will identify Yen as Mó Yuan, Soul's father, while S-Game credits him with guiding the game's fight choreography and performing motion capture for the role.

Phantom Blade Zero‘s August 12 pre-order trailer will reveal that Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen plays Mó Yuan, the father of protagonist Soul. S-Game will also credit Yen as a creative consultant who has guided the game’s kung fu choreography since 2023, and says he performed motion capture for Mó Yuan.
A June PlayStation State of Play teaser showed a masked fighter carrying a sword in one hand and a baby in the other. The longer trailer will finally identify the man behind the mask, showing Mó Yuan in a fiery confrontation and giving the project a martial-arts connection that goes far beyond a simple voice or likeness performance.
Yen’s film career includes Rogue One, John Wick 4, Hero, Iron Monkey, and Once Upon a Time in China 2. Since 2008, he has also portrayed the kung fu grandmaster Ip Man in multiple films. Phantom Blade Zero is also Yen’s first video game role; before joining S-Game’s project, he had been attached to a Sleeping Dogs movie adaptation that never got off the ground. For a game built around fast, stylized martial-arts action, his involvement in the choreography is a fitting secret to pull out before launch.
S-Game’s trailer description also thanks Yen and his stunt team for bringing authentic kung fu to Phantom Blade Zero.
Kenji Tanigaki was an early clue
The connection was hiding in plain sight. In a May 24, 2023 PlayStation Blog post, S-Game founder Soulframe Liang named Kenji Tanigaki as Phantom Blade Zero‘s action director.
Tanigaki has been part of Yen’s stunt team for roughly 30 years and has worked with him on at least a dozen projects. His role on the game offered a quiet link to Yen’s production circle, even though S-Game kept Yen’s own involvement private until now.
Phantom Blade Zero’s next dates
Phantom Blade Zero is scheduled to launch on October 29, 2026, after S-Game delayed the game for extra polish. A dedicated August 17 State of Play presentation is also scheduled to show more of the combat, character builds, and dark wuxia setting. The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. PT / 10:00 p.m. ET.
Pre-orders are available through the game’s Steam page, which includes bonus items alongside the purchase options.
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Phantom Blade 0
Developed by S-Game





