The original crew which included Producer Long Ya, Screenwriters Qianmo Shui and Xiongcheng Wang have returned for the sequel.
Qianmo Shui who wrote the source novel expressed that they continued the story with the same leads in mind. She also said that they would have written a fresh story for a new cast. Nevertheless, circumstances came up and the original leads couldn't return to reprise their roles.
It is unclear whether Kim Tae-Hwan was approached for the sequel but regardless, he wouldn't have been able to accept as the Hallyu Ban was ongoing at the time when filming began. Qian Wu had scheduling conflicts.