Following their collaborations on Perversion Story, A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin, and The Eroticist, Lucio Fulci and producer Edmondo Amati joined together once again in May 1982. This new project was The Sword of Siegfried, a modern version of the Siegfried legend written by Gianfranco Clerici (Don’t Torture a Duckling, The New York Ripper). The budget was to be between 10 to 12 million dollars. Shooting was to start in September in England and then in Italy. Meanwhile, the producers attempted to sell the film in the Marché du Festival at Cannes. As no Italian actor could be found to play the mythological hero, a European casting call was then considered.