According to his autobiography, Bubba Smith had initially made a verbal agreement to reprise his role as Hightower, but Marion Ramsey later called Bubba in tears, uncertain as to why she had not been asked to return. Bubba knew Marion was hurting financially, having already given her a small loan not long before. Bubba said he would see what he could do. When Bubba called the producers to ask if Marion could join the cast, he was told that Hooks could not be written into the script. In defense of Marion, Bubba made the decision to withdraw from the movie. In a peculiar case of life imitating art, this situation mirrors the scene in Police Academy - Dümmer als die Polizei erlaubt (1984), when Hightower is forced to leave the academy after standing up for Hooks.
The final scene required 250 Russian military police officers as extras. In the midst of a local food shortage, 758 officers showed up on the day of shooting because they'd heard that lunch would be served. Producer Paul Maslansky and his team of Hungarian cooks left in a small van, and returned with a hot meal for everyone who had turned up on-set that day.
The entire cast and crew had to retreat quickly on October 4, 1993, when government troops began their assault on the Russian parliament building. Producer Paul Maslansky and Director Alan Metter were lunching at the United States Embassy when the confrontation began. They decided to re-group with their company at the Hotel Gorbachev Finance Academy, about five miles from the chaos. Filming resumed a few days later, confident that President Boris Yeltsin had regained control.
In scenes around the Russian Duma, black scorch marks occasionally appear on the building. During filming, President Boris Yeltsin was literally at war with the Communist-controlled Duma. The scorch marks are the result of tanks shelling the building.
Sasha Maslansky: The son of Paul Maslansky plays Tackleberry's Russian driver during the climactic chase scene.