[3] On August 8, 2008, Lundgren signed a contract with Insight Film Studios to direct and star in Icarus.

Chang as John, a Chinese crime boss; Igor Morozov as a Russian officer; Mike Carpenter and Marian Koprada, portraying younger versions of Icarus and Vadim; and Dan Payne and Chantal Forde in minor roles as Dave and Janet.

Kirk Shaw, the president and executive producer of Insight Film, arranged for Lundgren to be flown into Canada for dinner.

[4] Shot entirely in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,[3] filming was expected to last five weeks,[4] but reportedly wrapped after 18 days.

In them, Lundgren discusses his role as an actor and director, how he prepares for filming action scenes, and how he trains prior to performing any stunts.

[14] In its first week of release in the UAE, the film debuted in sixth place and grossed $56,475 at the box office ($4,034 per screening).

Jason Rugaard of Movie Mavericks awarded it three out of four stars, praising the action scenes and choreography, also saying the "quieter moments that allowed the actors to shine."

He summarized his review by warning readers of the "mystifying and miscalculated final shot that nearly destroys the entire film".

He noted the film spends a lot of time showing Edward Genn and his family; "which doesn't really work at all".

He compared the opening titles to a bad American TV show or video game, and felt the narration throughout was "mostly pointless and full of obvious, clichéd philosophies".

Despite giving a primarily negative review, Wright stated the "overall quality of the picture is very good for its release.