The producers originally wanted to cast André René Roussimoff, more commonly known as Andre the Giant, in the role of The Professor (Professor Toru Tanaka) because they felt Tanaka wasn't tall enough. They were eventually convinced that Tanaka would be more believable, as well as cheaper, and with less scheduling conflicts, so they agreed to cast him. In order to overcome his height "disadvantage", they had him wear platform shoes to make him appear taller than his 5'11" frame.
The car Sean Kane (Chuck Norris) drove in this movie is a 1973 Pontiac Trans Am.
Mako and Professor Tanaka would later reunite in The Perfect Weapon.
First of two movies that Chuck Norris made with director Steve Carver. The other being Lone Wolf McQuade (1983).