According to director Jeff Nichols, Adam Driver's first day on set was the same day he got the news he would be in Star Wars The Force Awakens.
Jeff Nichols wrote the film as a reflection on becoming a father.
Joel Edgerton and Adam Driver have both appeared in the Star Wars films. Edgerton played Luke Skywalker's uncle, Owen Lars, in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), while Driver played his nephew, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren, in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015).
This is the first of two movies directed by Jeff Nichols set to come out in 2016, the other being Loving, with Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga and Michael Shannon. While there is no release date for Loving, the distribution rights were bought by Focus Features
Warner Bros set the film for November 25, 2015 release, but in July 2015 has moved the movie back to March 18, 2016.
This will be the eighth collaboration that actors Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks has worked together. Films including Blackbird (2007), The Missing Person (2009), Return (2011), Mud (2012) and Midnight Special (2016). They also appeared in the HBO TV series, Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014), and has appeared in two stage plays; including Lady (2008) and The Killer (2014).
In one scene, Adam Driver reads a series of phrases representing classified information. Coincidentally, one of them is "red saber."