On an episode of the Office Ladies podcast, B.J. Novak said that he first got the idea for the film when he saw a poster for another film titled Vengeance at a film festival. He said that he was struck with the image of his face on a poster with that name on it, believing audiences would be surprised, since that's not the type of work he's known for.
The scene where Kansas City shows Ben her cracked phone screen and says that she keeps it like that because it reminds her of how she feels, mirrors a similar scene in The Apartment (1960) where Shirley MacLaine's character has a cracked mirror in her apartment and explains to Jack Lemmon's character that she does not fix it because it reminds her of how she feels.
In a 2022 interview, Novak commented on his experience of directing a feature for the first time: "I was scared over every detail and I especially turned to a lot of director friends for advice and encouragement every step of the way. A friend of mine, Marc Webb, gave me a lot of great wisdom, John Lee Hancock, who I've worked with a lot. So it was really turning to people for advice."
The role of Robin, the important radio producer Ben talks to on the phone, is played by Terry Gross, the longtime host of the National Public Radio interview program "Fresh Air" and one of the most recognizable voices on American radio. During an interview with Kim Masters on KCRW's "The Business," B.J. Novak said that he asked Gross to play this role in Vengeance after he had finished being interviewed by her for "Fresh Air.": "I said, 'Hey, I have a role for you,' and she was so confused and surprised. . . . It's someone we only hear as a voice, and it's a huge deal to my character when she calls and likes what he's working on." Novak added that Gross, who has appeared in other movies and TV shows as herself but does not usually perform as other characters, took the job "very seriously. To me, that's the biggest star in the movie."
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