Yukie Nakama was cast in the role of Sadako. After Nakama's friends had seen Ringu (1998), they teased her about her resemblance to Sadako. Nakama was later contacted by her agent who mentioned they were looking for actresses for the role of Sadako and tried out for the role. She received confirmation of her role in the next two weeks.
Producer Takasige Ichise offered Hideo Nakata the chance to direct who passed on the offer.
Directorial debut of Norio Tsuruta. Tsuruta had previously worked on direct-to-video horror scripts such as Honto ni atta kowai hanashi (Scary True Stories) in 1991, and wrote and directed the sequel. After working on various television and direct-to-video works, Tsuruta got to work with screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi on the segment "The Curse" on the television special Haunted School F. Takahashi lobbied for Tsuruta to take on the film. Tsuruta referred to the film as "a tragedy" with a theme about "a young woman who is oppressed because she is different from everyone else. In Japan, there is great pressure not to stray too far from the norm."
Yôji Tanaka would go on to appear in Ju-on: The Grudge (2002), which features another iconic J-horror antagonist Kayako Saeki. Both franchises would crossover in Sadako vs. Kayako (2016).
The film takes place 30 years prior to the events of Ring, and depicts the life of 19-year-old Sadako Yamamura (Yukie Nakama), the antagonist of previous films. In this film, her role shifts to that of a protagonist.