 The details of the plot were devised by screenwriter John Fusco along with actor Jet Li.Li explains,

In a behind the scenes article he wrote for "Kung Fu Magazine", screenwriter John Fusco also stated he derived the surname for the Jason Tripitikas character from "the wandering monk, Tripitaka, from "Journey to the West"".The Golden Sparrow character was inspired by Cheng Pei-pei's character Golden Swallow from the Shaw Brothers film "Come Drink with Me".