An adaptation of the comics was originally envisioned by producer Tonino Cervi, who set up an international co-production deal in 1965 and hired Seth Holt to direct the film with a cast that included Jean Sorel, Elsa Martinelli and Gilbert Roland.

De Laurentiis produced the film in tandem with another comic book adaptation, Barbarella, with the two projects receiving financial support from Paramount Pictures and sharing several cast and crew members.

Working under more financial and creative pressure than he was familiar with, Bava delivered Danger: Diabolik considerably below its assigned budget by utilizing many of the inexpensive visual effects techniques that he had used in his earlier films.

[15] Director Umberto Lenzi unsuccessfully attempted to buy the rights to Diabolik from De Laurentiis, prompting him to instead make Kriminal, based on Magnus and Max Bunker's fumetti neri of the same name.

[19] Bava was also deemed by De Laurentiis to be a financially viable director, as Le spie vengono dal semifreddo (the Italian version of Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs) had been a commercial success.

[20] The initial treatment for Danger: Diabolik was written by Adriano Baracco, which was then adapted into a full screenplay by Dino Maiuri, who had previously scripted the Eurospy comedy Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die for De Laurentiis.

[21][22] The script was later revised by the British writing team of Brian Degas and Tudor Gates, who were hired by Bava due to their positive collaboration on the aborted giallo project Cry Nightmare (later filmed by Antonio Margheriti as The Young, the Evil and the Savage).

[26] Among the differences include the opening heist—which was scripted as concerning an armoured car carrying gold, compared to the film's depiction of a diversion in which cash is transported in a Rolls-Royce accompanied by a police motorcade—a police raid on a casino instead of a discotheque, Eva injuring herself while using an exercycle rather than while helping Diabolik set up a trap, a second conversation between the Minister of Finance and Inspector Ginko [it] being substituted with a televised plea to the public, and Eva visiting Diabolik's gold-encased body in the Hall of Ministry rather than in their hideout.

[30][31] Other crew members would also become future Oscar winners: Carlo Rambaldi, who had previously provided special effects for Planet of the Vampires and created Diabolik's form-fitting mask,[32] would be recognized for his work on E.T.

[36] Due to most of the character's face being hidden by a black or white skin-tight mask, Law noted that the most prominent aspect of Diabolik's appearance was his eyebrows; he prepared for the role by applying mascara to his own, and taught himself to convey a wide array of expressions with them.

[12][38] Because of his busy schedule, which precluded his ability to dub his own performance (in the typical manner of production for Italian films), Terry-Thomas' scenes were shot in a single day and his dialogue was recorded as live sound.

[42] After a week of shooting with Deneuve, Bava and De Laurentiis decided that she should be replaced;[36] having objected to the nudity required for the role, she was fired after she refused to perform the scene in which Diabolik and Eva have sex on top of the $10 million they have stolen.

[43] De Laurentiis, who had previously cast the actress in Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die and The Witches, disliked Tolo and instead hired Bava's secondary choice, Marisa Mell.

[12][53] Despite their difficult working relationship, De Laurentiis was highly impressed by Bava's efforts, especially by the visual effects, jokingly declaring that he would inform Paramount that the film had gone overbudget, and that a matte painting of the car hangar in Diabolik's lair was actually a set that cost $200,000.

[51] He decided that the money saved from the production needed to be used immediately to make a sequel, but Bava refused, later telling Cozzi, "I informed [De Laurentiis] that Diabolik was immobilized, that he was suffering from a permanent disability—that he was dead!".

[59] The underwater sequences of Diabolik and Eva's recovery of the gold were shot by a second unit supervised by Francisco Baldini; these are interspersed with close-ups of Law and Mell's faces that were filmed "dry" in front of an aquarium.

[59] Morricone's score for Danger: Diabolik, which was conducted by Bruno Nicolai, was the composer's only collaboration with Bava, and was influenced by his work with the avant-garde/free improvisation collective Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza.

[66] Danger: Diabolik's release was highly anticipated in Italy, and this led to De Laurentiis threatening to sue producers of films whose titles were similar to his, such as Superargo Versus Diabolicus and Arriva Dorellik.

As bookings decreased, it was relegated to supporting exploitation films at grindhouses and drive-ins, such as The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies and Blood Rites, before falling into obscurity.

[72] The original English version, used for the film's theatrical, DVD and Blu-ray releases, presented the remaining cast dubbed with predominantly British accents,[50] and included the voices of Dan Sturkie and Bernard Grant as Ginko and Valmont respectively.

This footage is interspersed with new material, created using many of the same techniques as Bava's film, depicting Diabolik (portrayed by Ad-Rock) humorously attempting to steal a fondue recipe from a villain (Adam Yauch) and his butler (Mike D).

Packaged in a limited edition slipcase, this release includes the DVD's special features, alongside a re-recorded commentary with Lucas and an exclusive video essay by critic and historian Kat Ellinger.

"[91] Variety was also negative, calling it a "dull Dino De Laurentiis programmer" whose "[b]izarre sets, poor process work, static writing and limp direction spell pure formula fare for lowercase grind bookings.

"[97] In his 1970 reference book Science Fiction in the Cinema, John Baxter declared that "Judex is alive and living at Cinecittà", praising Bava as a "brilliant cinematographer and one of Italy's finest fantasy film-makers" who gives the film "the visual pace of a streamlined juggernaut", and applauded Law's "dazzling characterization".

[99] Similarly, Kat Ellinger believes that both Danger: Diabolik and Barbarella reflect trends of the sexual revolution, presenting a morally ambiguous worldview that stands in contrast to most 21st century comic book film adaptations such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which she described as largely "masculine and asexual".

"[86] Cinefantastique also discussed the film's visuals, noting that: "[Bava's] color rich, brilliantly artificial-looking compositions were the cinematic equivalent of comic book art even before he tackled the form."

They described the movie as "thin as a poster, but still amazing cinema – a succession of striking, kinetic, sexy, absurd images accompanied by a one-of-a-kind Ennio Morricone score that revels in its casual anarchy.

"[103] Writing for The Nerdist, Kyle Anderson praised both the film and its MST3K episode, describing the former as "boast[ing] some truly psychedelic visuals and impressive action sequences to boot" and the latter as "one of the strongest riffs of the Sci-Fi years".

[114] In December 2018, RAI Cinema president Paolo del Brocco announced that a new adaptation of Diabolik was in development, with the Manetti Bros. directing and co-writing the screenplay with Michelangelo La Neve and Gomboli.

[115] The cast includes Luca Marinelli as Diabolik, Miriam Leone as Eva, Valerio Mastandrea as Ginko, in addition to Serena Rossi, Alessandro Roja and Claudia Gerini.