Animating the ancients

Li Xian, the only female among the five, is entrusted by her father — a golden-mask warrior who dies in the battle against an evil invader — to find his successor. Fate leads the young woman to embark on a journey, traveling through time to the modern world, where she unexpectedly discovers that a troubled teenager named Charlie is the chosen heir. Despite their initial conflicts and differences, the two protagonists join forces with three other warriors, defeating their enemies and restoring peace to the kingdom.

Producer Zhang Zhihong recalls that the project, which was launched in 2015, featured plans to create a Sanxingdui culture-themed franchise, including a novel series, an animated movie, a computer game and a theme park.

After the Chinese creative team finalized the story outline, Canadian author John Wilson, who is known for historical tales, wrote The Ruined City, the first volume in the Golden Mask series. Following the novel's publication in 2018, the outline was developed into the film's script with a Chinese version for China, and an English version for North America.

In order to seek more inspiration about the ancient civilization that once prevailed in Southwest China's Sichuan province, the film crew — consisting of animators and writers from home and abroad — went to several famous archaeological sites and historical attractions in the province, including the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, the Jinsha site in Chengdu and the ancient ethnic Qiang city in Maoxian county in Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture.