The film is adapted from the novel of the same name by David Mitchell. This novel is a work that is difficult to adapt because of its spectacular description of time and space and human nature. In the book, Mitchell tells six relatively independent but related stories. The time and space span from medieval Europe to the utopia in fantasy. Characters have also spanned from knights, underworld, musicians to reporters. Although the subject matter is very suitable for filming a movie, the novel's story is too complex and the book's obscure values, so after the novel was published in 2004, there has been little interest from filmmakers.
In 2005, Natalie Portman, who was still filming "V for Vendetta," handed the novel to Lana Wachowski, who immediately became interested in the story. In the following year, the Wachowski compatriots wrote the first version of the novel. This script was praised by Tom Tykway and successfully attracted Tykway to the crew. In the following time, these three leading directors in the world have been constantly revising the script, discussing the storyline and ease of adaptation with the original author Mitchell, and looking for investment worldwide. After numerous rewritings and discussions, the script of the film was finally written. In return for Portman's introduction of the novel to himself, fellow Wachowski agreed to give her a role in the film. But in 2010, Portman became pregnant and she gave up the role. Later, this role was handed over to Pei Dou Na's hands.
