Writer/director Jon Watts told Deadline in November 2024 that he refused to make a sequel after Apple abandoned plans to give Wolfs a wide theatrical release because he no longer trusted them as a creative partner. Watts said, "I showed Apple my final cut of Wolfs early this year. They were extremely enthusiastic about it and immediately commissioned me to start writing a sequel. But their last minute shift from a promised wide theatrical release to a streaming release was a total surprise and made without any explanation or discussion. I wasn't even told about it until less than a week before they announced it to the world. I was completely shocked and asked them to please not include the news that I was writing a sequel. They ignored my request and announced it in their press release anyway, seemingly to create a positive spin to their streaming pivot. And so I quietly returned the money they gave me for the sequel."
Sony, Lionsgate, Apple, and Netflix went into a bidding war for the movie package before Apple sealed the deal. However, by August 2024, Apple canceled plans to release the film nationwide through Sony in favor of a limited theatrical release. Brad Pitt and George Clooney, who both produced the film via their production companies, took pay cuts in order to keep a theatrical release.
In a 2024 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jon Watts spoke about why this type of movie was a challenge and one of its main influences: "I love one-night movies. That's a great little subgenre. Después de hora (1985) was a huge inspiration for this movie, and I like just how linear it makes the storytelling. You're not really jumping ahead in time. We rarely change perspectives. We're with the guys the whole time. You have to get really strict about continuity and things like that. You have to pick clothes that will work under all circumstances because they're wearing the same clothes all night. There's a lot of right-brain puzzles that come up when you set something all in one night, which is fun for me. You don't get the forgiveness of 'cut to: the next day.'"
George Clooney's BMW's license plate is New York 3ABM582. The license plate for the Acura NSX of Winston Wolf in Tiempos violentos (1994) was California 3ABM581.