According to Buddhist mythology, Asura is the dimension of pure desire. In the film, the Asura King wants to stage a coup against the ruling realm of heaven, one of the six realms that form the universe. The highlight of the film is the motion-capture CGI creation of the three-headed Asura King, played by three different actors, including Leo Wu, Tony Leung and Carina Lau. Other foreign faces, including Matthew Knowles, Damien Walters and Caitlin Dechelle also star in the film.
However, Yang didn't hire a renowned director to helm the project. He let Hollywood's veteran stunt coordinator and assistant director Zhang Peng take the director chair. For the producer and screenplay writer, to precisely manage production at this level was more important than having a wildly talented and famous director. "We needed an engineer-like director to make everything right. Zhang had experiences in Kingsman: The Secret Service, Ant-Man, Kick-Ass and The Twilight Saga. He's good," Yang said.
Not only that, but an 1,800-strong international cast and famed production crew from 35 countries and regions were also recruited to the project, including Oscar winner Ngila Dickson (The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones) as costume designer, as well as Martin Hernandez (The Revenant and Birdman) as audio director. Charlie Iturriaga (Deadpool, Furious 7 and The Social Network) was put in charge of the visual effects.
