This was the first "Pink Panther" film in a decade, following two unsuccessful attempts to continue the series following the death of Peter Sellers, who originated the character of Clouseau. Considered a relaunch of the series, the plan was for Roberto Benigni—a popular Italian comedian who had yet to be discovered in America—to continue on where Sellers had left off. However, Benigni was not Edwards' first choice for the role. Kevin Kline was attached for a while. He was a fan of the series and loved Edwards' work, but decided after reading the script that the project just wouldn't work. Kline and Edwards were to work together on a project called "Luck" (not an Edwards script) that William Morris packaged as a replacement project for the duo, but after this film flopped the project fizzled.