After 20 years of filmmaking in the United States, Verhoeven returned to his homeland, the Netherlands, for the making of "Black Book". The story was written by Verhoeven and screenwriter Gerard Soeteman, with whom he made successful films such as "Turkish Delight" (1973) and "Soldier of Orange" (1977). The two men had been working on the script for fifteen years, but they solved their story problems in the early 2000s by changing the main character from male to female. According to Verhoeven, "Black Book" was born out of elements that did not fit in any of his earlier movies, and it can be seen as a supplement to his earlier film about World War II "Soldier of Orange".