In Mulan (1998), as part of her disguise and transformation to join the military, Mulan cut off most of her waist length hair. This scene wasn't adapted to the live-action film because it was considered redundant. Historically speaking, long hair on men was very common in imperial China, so Mulan having long hair at the military camp would not have been considered unusual.
Actor and martial artist Jet Li, who plays the Emperor, admitted turning down the role because of the "script and pay." But when his daughters told him that it was important for Disney to shine a light on Chinese culture, he backtracked and accepted the role.
To make the film more historically accurate than Mulan (1998), the enemy invaders are now the Rouran, who lived in the time and place of the original story, instead of Huns.
Yifei Liu, Gong Li, Jet Li, and Pei-Pei Cheng all reprised their roles for the film's Mandarin language dub for the release in China.
One of Mulan's fellow soldiers is named Cricket, a reference to Cri-Kee the lucky cricket from Mulan (1998).
Ming-Na Wen: the original voice of Mulan in Mulan (1998), appears as the esteemed guest who introduces Mulan to the Emperor. She originally had another cameo planned with the Matchmaker, but due to schedule conflicts with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013) she filmed a shorter and simpler appearance.