Liu Yifei, a famous Chinese actress who's also known as Crystal Liu is set to play the role of Hua Mulan in the live-action remake. The 30-year old actress won the role from nearly 1,000 applicants after a 5-continent casting search. Fans were relieved to see an actual Asian actress play this role after the many cases of white-washing done by Hollywood producers.

Liu is fluent in English, has decent martial arts acting skills (see her Forbidden Kingdom performance) and has starred alongside Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Nicholas Cage. The movie is one of the most-anticipated films of 2019 and part of the Disney franchise live-remakes. Niko Caro ("The Zookeeper's Wife") will helm the film and other cast members are expected to be announced in the following weeks.