Although, to be fair, following announcements that Scarlett Johansson would star in a live-action remake of the Japanese anime Ghost in the Shell, maybe the rumor didn’t sound quite as insane as it should have.
The idea that Jennifer Lawrence could play Mulan sounds insane, but it was a real rumor back in 2016, though not one that anybody really believed even at the time.
There was even a petition asking Disney to cast an Asian actress, not because there was any evidence that wasn’t going to happen, simply because there was a general fear it might.