The primary full-scale set, a secret scientific laboratory, was built in the huge pavilions of the VILLS factory. With a total area of just under 38,000 square feet, it was the largest set built in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The decision to split the film in two parts was panned by Russian critics as "an attempt to sell one movie for the price of two" and caused an uproar among the audience. As a result, director Mikhail Khleborodov promised to release an initial single-film "director's cut" on DVD.
When the production ran over budget, producers Yusup Bakhshiev and Viktor Taknov decided to split an already finished 2-hour film in half to create two stand-alone features. Since there was no time to shoot any additional material, previously scrapped dialogs and sequences were brought back from the cutting-room floor to create two full-length films that were released in cinemas within a month from each other.
The film's promotional blog kept by producer Yusup Bakhshiev had to be shut down after the discussion between Bakhshiyev and discontented moviegoers got out of control.
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