The part of the young Wong Fei-Hung is played by Sze-Man Tsang, a talented martial artist, and also a girl.
With Jet Li at the time not wanting to continue his role as Wong Fei-Hung, producer Hark Tsui gave Yuen Woo-Ping the task of directing a prequel.
For the US release, distributor Miramax made their own subtitles that did not accurately translate the Cantonese dialogue. Scenes were also edited or removed to tone down the violence and comedy.