The film was based on Chang Ta-chun's The Happy Thief, which was based on a folk legend. But after being adapted by Wang, it expanded into something quite different from the original. The Happy Thief was a mischievously funny novel.
《飛天》的原始構想來自小說家張大春的鄉野傳奇小說《歡喜賊》，但經過王小棣的改編後，內容已與原著大不相同。