After filming "Happy Time" in 2000, Zhang Yimou decided to make a martial arts movie. He spent three years preparing the film. At first I wanted to adapt the works of Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng, but it didn't succeed, so I decided to do it myself. After the script was implemented, Zhang Yimou began to look for actors and invited Tony Leung to play Can Jian, Maggie Cheung to play Feixue, Chen Daoming to play King Qin, Zhang Ziyi to play Ruyue, and Donnie Yen to play Changkong. However, the last nameless, that is, the most important actor in "Heroes", Zhang Yimou, can't ask anyone to play it.
To play the nameless actor, not only must have a good martial arts skills, but also have a huge market appeal. The reason why charismatic characters are required to perform is that this film is an international-level film, and Zhang Yimou wants to promote this film to the international market. I once thought of Jackie Chan acting. But at that time, Zhang Yimou considered that Jackie Chan and Wuming did not match their ages and personalities, and finally invited Jet Li to play the lead role. He moved by a strange way to the affectionate Jet Li and his wife. Jet Li decided to "self-price" and starred in "Hero".
"Hero" was launched in Dunhuang, Gansu in mid-August 2001. The filming work progressed slowly. There were two groups of drama groups A and B. Group A mainly filmed literary dramas, and Group B mainly filmed martial arts. The shooting locations are far away from the city and go back and forth every day. The distance reaches five to six hundred kilometers. In late November, he moved from Dunhuang to Hengdian to fully perform the gratitude and enmity in the "Qin Palace".
"Hero" used Japan's Wada Emi as the costume and character design. Zhang Yimou stated that he originally wanted to find Zhang Shuping from Hong Kong. Because the other party was busy with Wong Kar Wai's "2046", after the strong recommendation of the boss of "Hero", he finally found Wada Emi. Wada Emi once won the Oscar for Best Costume Design Award for "Ran", which he collaborated with the ghost director Akira Kurosawa. In addition to "Chaos", her representative works also include "Song Dynasty" and "The White-haired Witch".
