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.

Li Yunxiang, a young motorcycling enthusiast, occasionally becomes the new host of Nezha's primordial spirit. With the superpower awakened deep in his body, Li accepts his responsibility to stop a new threat caused by Nezha's thousands-years-long foe, the dragon, reincarnated as a water tycoon.

"Li possess the superpower by accident. One of the core messages that we want to convey through the film is about how an ordinary person could balance his personal life and a given duty when he is suddenly a hero," Zhao said.

An advanced screening in January released an approximately 20-minute clip, impressing audiences with stunning special-effects shots.

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