The film is set primarily from 1969 and 1974, during which Marlon Brando was preparing to star in The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris whilst making plans with Bernard Judge to create a paradise getaway on Tahiti.

[2] The film is written and directed by Bill Fishman and adapted from the memoir Waltzing with Brando: Planning a Paradise in Tahiti by Bernard Judge.

Principal photography took place mainly in Tetiaroa, where Marlon Brando and Judge tried to introduce sustainable architecture and practices.

[4] Billy Zane was interviewed about playing the role of Marlon Brando in the film in January 2019 and described how he was not previously "aware of his passion for environmental rights, which was so prescient and so timely" and that he "wanted to celebrate the man for being a forward-thinker" and that he was "interested in teaching people about him in a way that they’re not familiar while still mining the drama”.

[6] In November 2024, Jon Heder, Richard Dreyfuss, Camille Razat, Alaina Huffman, Tia Carrere, and James Jagger were revealed to have joined the cast.