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).
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar appeared in the original version, but refused to appear in the new version. In the new footage, his role is played by a double.