The movie was first announced in 2010 with James Franco as Ricky Stanicky. As a result of scheduling conflicts, Franco dropped and the role went to Joaquin Phoenix. The shooting kept getting delayed and, in 2013, Phoenix dropped off the movie, and the role went to Jim Carrey. Carrey waited for a full year for the production to start; then he dropped off, and the role went to Nicolas Cage in 2015. Cage thought the role was an opportunity to remind viewers of his comedy chops, but at that time international financiers asked for action elements to be added to the film as it would be sold as a Nicolas Cage movie. Their request was denied. The project stopped until 2021 when Zac Efron and Amazon became interested in the script. Finally, John Cena was cast as Ricky Stanicky.
The movie, first announced in 2010, took 14 years for production to start.
Jim Carrey, James Franco, Joaquin Phoenix and Nicolas Cage were originally considered for the role of Ricky Stanicky.
The DJ set was performed by Marc Rebillet. He is a DJ from New York City and has gone viral many times for his live sets in which he improvises songs with the help of his loop station, by recording several instruments, tracks and vocals on the spot, often in response to an enthusiastic crowd. These performances have earned him the nickname "loopdaddy".