The original director of the film was Riccardo Freda, but he was replaced by Bertrand Tavernier a few days after shooting started. Freda directed Il Figlio de D'Artagnan in 1949 and was not pleased with the result. Freda had given Bertrand Tavernier his first production assignments. Following the success of Cyrano de Bergerac in 1990, the Paris production house Ciby 2000 agreed to have Freda direct a film about D'Artagnan's daughter—a project that Freda and Eric Poindron conceived—with Tavernier serving as producer. Principal photography started in October 1993, and from the first days of shooting, the film ran into serious difficulty. Freda had little regard for actors, and Sophie Marceau soon became frustrated with the eighty-four year old director, threatening to leave the project if Freda was not replaced. Tavernier took over as director, causing some tension between himself and his former mentor. While Tavernier's films always utilized comedic elements, La Fille de D'Artagnan was his first and only straight comedy.
