The restaurant next to the Stephen's book store is named "The Double Deuce Restaurant," which was also the name of the bar in the Road House (1989) film.
The film was shot in the Dominican Republic, with the only shots actually in the Florida Keys being that of Fred the Tree. Fred is an Australian pine, which is not local to the area and likely brought via bird droppings. It took root in the old abandoned bridge where it lacks soil and is exposed to the sun, salt water, and winds. Locals view it as a symbol of surviving and growing in adversity. After Hurricane Irma in 2017, locals were surprised to find it alive. Locals will even decorate it for the holidays.
Jake Gyllenhaal underwent extensive training with renowned trainer Jason Walsh to prepare for his role as an ex-UFC fighter. The preparation involved a multi-leveled regimen focusing on strength, conditioning, and nutrition, highlighting Gyllenhaal's dedication to the role.
The centerpiece of the production was the main roadhouse set, designed by production designer Greg Berry and then built from scratch from the ground up. Perhaps the greatest testament to the quality of the construction was the fact that the Road House set --- including its thatched roof --- withstood the force of Hurricane Fiona, which blew through the Dominican Republic filming location in September 2022.
Every fight in the film uses full CG body doubles due to the production using a new multi-pass method to do seamless punches and kicks instead of faking hits or cutting around the action to be believable. In every fight the doubles are stitched into the edit for a few frames before stitching back to real footage.