Prior to developing this adaptation, Edgar Wright said on Twitter that The Running Man (1987) was the film that he most wanted to remake.
This is the second collaboration between Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall following Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).
Before Glen Powell was cast, Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth have met with director Edgar Wright or were considered for the lead role.
Along with The Running Man (1987) and Thinner (1996), this is one of only three Stephen King adaptations based on a novel that he wrote under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.