The paperboy is a reference to Johnny Gosch, a paperboy from Iowa who was on a route with his dog Gretchen and disappeared. His dog was found later, but Johnny's disappearance remains unsolved to this day.
"I think it's fair to say he's my favorite actor I've worked with," said Derrickson about Ethan Hawke. He recalls trying to convince Hawke to do Sinister (2012) despite the actor's protestations that he didn't really like or watch horror. Hawke had been concerned it would be a dark experience, but Derrickson convinced him that it's actually a lot of fun making horror movies. He had to be convinced once again for this film, but it was because he doesn't really play villains and told Derrickson the script would have to be great for him to sign on. Hawke called back that night after reading it, left a voicemail in the voice of The Grabber, and Derrickson knew he had him hooked.
The Grabber dons several creepy masks throughout the film, each exposing different portions of his face. They were designed by legendary prosthetic makeup artist Tom Savini. Mason Thames said that the first time he saw the mask, coupled with Ethan Hawke's bone-chilling performance, he was terrified.
Executive producer Jason Blum, from the House of Blum, sent Derrickson a black phone in a display case after reading the script and giving the film the green light. Derrickson moved into a new house in 2021 and Blum secretly had a black phone mounted on the wall of the new house's basement. "I was just sitting in my living room and I heard a phone ring in the basement, and I was like oh my God." He discovered that Blum had it set to speed dial his cell phone whenever it was lifted from the cradle.
The movie was delayed from its initial January 2022 release to June 2022 due to unexpectedly great preview showings. Once Blumhouse realized just how great early reactions were, they gave it a summer release date.