Director Yûichi Fukuda notes that his work on The Hero Yoshihiko (2011) and Blue Flame (2014) was what convinced "Gintama" author Hideaki Sorachi to do a live-action adaptation.
Kôichi Yamadera and Mikako Takahashi, who voice Yoshida Shoyo and the dog Sadaharu in Gintama (2005), reprise their roles for the live-action film.
Yûichi Fukuda cites Mary Poppins (1964) as an influence on the film's design, saying that it had unrealistic VFX which worked in making the film look like a live-action fantasy.
Yûichi Fukuda didn't like Gintama at first because people kept comparing it to his work. But when he read the manga comic, he came to like and enjoy it.