Steve McQueen, James Coburn, and Muhammad Ali refused roles in the film because they felt it exploited Bruce Lee's death, and because of the low pay Golden Harvest was offering.
Chuck Norris threatened legal action against Golden Harvest for giving him screen credit for this film. Norris appears in archive footage from The Way of the Dragon (1972).
Bruce Lee had filmed over 30 minutes of fight scenes for this film when work was suspended to allow Lee to work on Enter the Dragon (1973). However, Lee died before he could return. Six years later, director Robert Clouse fleshed out a feature around the original footage with a new cast, including two stand-ins for Lee, whose faces are hidden by dark sunglasses and/or shadows. Close-ups and stills of Lee's face, as well as a cardboard cut-out, were also used.