Daniel Wu. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Many fans are sighing over Daniel Wu's "ugliest" role in history in the film Warcraft, but they may find more to enjoy in his role in the upcoming sci-fi action Sky on Fire.

Wu played a green-skinned, slouch orc villain in Warcraft, which has raked in around 1 billion yuan ($152 million) after its fifth day of release.

Now, starring as a head bodyguard in the new movie, Wu returns to his familiar zone.

Set about 10 years in the future, Sky on Fire offers a storyline in which scientists successfully develop a new medicine to prolong the human life span. But the medicine is stolen and Wu’s character is involved into the crime.

A martial arts practitioner, Wu handled most of the action sequences without using stand-ins.

Daniel Wu (left) and Zhang Jingchu (center). [Photo provided to China Daily]

"I broke my nose the second day," he recalls in a news conference during the 2016 Shanghai International Film Festival.

However, Wu says his biggest concern was not his nose but whether he could continue working in the directorial work of Ringo Lam.

Lam has directed a small number of films, around 10, in a career spanning for more than 30 years. He is known for breathtaking action films, and Sky on Fire marks his return to directing after a seven-year break.

Most of the photography was shot in a 35-story skyscraper in Hong Kong.

In addition to Wu, the celebrity cast includes Chinese mainland actress Zhang Jingchu, Taiwan actress Amber Kuo and Taiwan actor Chang Hsiao-chuan.

The feature is set for a national release during the 2017 Spring Festival holiday.