On making the movie, director Joe Dante recalled "originally I was told to make an edgy picture for teenagers, or when the sponsor tie-ins came in the new mandate was to soften it up as a kiddie movie. Too late as it turned out, and there are elements of both approaches in there. Just before release, it was purged of a lot of action explosions."
Joe Dante originally wanted the cast of Predator (1987) to voice the Commando Elite. Arnold Schwarzenegger would voice Chip Hazard, Shane Black would voice Kip Killagin, Carl Weathers would voice Butch Meathook, Jesse Ventura would voice Brick Bazooka, Sonny Landham would voice Nick Nitro, and Bill Duke would voice Link Static.
The murder of Phil Hartman before the premiere caused his character to not appear in any print ads (which had almost no human characters).
This movie featured music by Led Zeppelin, a band notoriously strict about how their music is used in films, games, and other media.