First preparations started in 2016 when Ivan Fíla was approached by producer Miloš Šmídmajer with idea to make a film about Kriegel. Fíla agreed and has written a book The man who stood in the way. Success of the book paved way to a film adaptation.[5] Fíla was set to direct the film with Tomáš Töpfer set to star as Kriegel.[6] Production was later stalled due to conflicts between Fila and Šmídmajer.[1] In February 2020 Šmídmajer decided to replace Fíla with different director.[4] Shooting started in November 2021 with Petr Nikolaev as the director. Shooting started in Kyiv.[7] It was announced in August 2022 that the shooting is finished.[8] On 31 March 2023 first trailer was released with the film premiere set for 25 May 2023.[9][10]