Director Simon Aboud originally planned to make this in 2010 with Carey Mulligan. After falling through, it was resurrected two years later with Felicity Jones, Rhys Ifans, and Rupert Friend lined up to star, but that too didn't materialize.
When Simon Aboud met with Jeremy Irvine in New York to discuss the film, he was surprised when Irvine asked him why he should be in the movie, not the other way around.