Ari Aster wrote a contemporary Western script long before the COVID-19 pandemic began and was initially planning to make it his directorial debut. He tried for quite a few years to get it made, but he ultimately decided to shelve it and make Hereditary (2018) his debut. He confirmed during Beau tiene miedo (2023)'s press tour that this script would more than likely be his fourth feature, and it was updated to fit a post-2020 lens.
The name of the data center "SolidGoldMagikarp", refers to a phenomenon in AI, where certain prompts, like "SolidGoldMagikarp", exhibit unusual and often nonsensical behavior when processed by the model. This phenomenon stems from initial data collection which seems trivial at first, but by continuously identifying and reinforcing it, the effect becomes amplified and real, much like in the movie.
Christopher Abbott was originally cast but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with Hombre lobo (2025). He was replaced by Austin Butler.
One of three 2025 releases shot by Iranian cinematographer Darius Khondji, with the other titles being Mickey 17 (2025) and Marty Supreme (2025).
Ari Aster's first feature film not to have cinematography by Pawel Pogorzelski. Darius Khondji served as director of photography instead.