The first script of Nezha Reborn is also set in ancient China, absorbing a lot of elements from the original story. But an ancient China-set portion based on a key plot point from the 1979 popular animated film Prince Nezha's Triumph Against Dragon King is remade in the new film as a salute to the 1970s classic.

However, Zhao says he felt such a retelling would be stereotypical.

"I want to find something to make me excited," the director said, describing himself as a "rebellious and wild" person.

With inspirations from the punk subculture of the West and the typical Shanghai housing of the 1930s, the script was re-written as set in the fictional Donghai (East Sea), a city struggling with severe tension between rich and poor.