After Polanski received the script adapted from the novel of the same name by Enrique Urby, he liked it so much that he immediately read the novel again. He saw many elements suitable for movies in this novel. Nervous, interesting, and there are many very cinematic minor characters. This novel contains so many conspiracies, so Polanski decided to re-adapt the script himself. He found his old friend, the screenwriter of "Bitter Moon", John Blanco, to do this with him. thing. Polanski and John discarded a lot of unnecessary content and focused the clues on Corso's verification of the authenticity of the copy of The Ninth Gate.
When Polanski was reading this book, he thought of Depp playing the role of Corso. Depp and Polanski met as early as the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, and he really wanted to cooperate with Polanski. At first, Polanski didn't think Depp was the best actor for Corso, because the role was 40 years old. He wanted to find an older actor to play this role, but Depp insisted on acting and wanted to work with him very much, so Polanski accepted it.
