In an attempt to differentiate "The Shadow" from other superhero films of the time, Koepp 'focused on the copy line, 'Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?' and wondered how Shadow knew what evil lurks in the hearts of men. And I decided that perhaps it was because he was uncomfortably familiar with the evil in his own heart.' For Koepp, the film then became 'a story of guilt and atonement'. He picked Shiwan Khan as the film’s villain because 'he was bold and he knew what he was doing – he wanted to conquer the world. That was very simple, maybe a little ambitious, but he knew exactly what he wanted.' He had always been a fan of Alec Baldwin and wrote the script with him in mind: 'He has the eyes and the voice; he had so much of what I pictured Cranston being.' Koepp also sat in on rehearsals, and incorporated a lot of the actor’s humor into the script.