Crispin Glover filmed this movie at the same time Back to the Future Part II (1989) was being shot. Crispin Glover did not reach a payment agreement for BTTF2 and archived footage was used with prosthetics added to stand-ins to portray his character. Glover later sued and won.
John Boorman originally envisaged this as a starring vehicle for Sean Connery.
With their purchase of 21st Century Fox in 2019, this is the first of two.films with the same title, ten years apart of each other, to be owned by The Walt Disney Company. This film, produced by Touchstone Pictures, has been owned by them from the begining. The other film, starring Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd, was produced by what was then 20th Century Fox in 2000.