The film originally ended with the destruction of the world. Test audiences didn't like it, so a happier ending was shot on a soundstage in Burbank.
As a guest on The Chevy Chase Show (1993) on October 4, 1993, Dan Aykroyd tells a story about he and Chase being pursued by a truck full of paratroopers, while on-location in Morocco. Aykroyd had taken a snapshot of the military unit, who then pursued them at high speeds back to their hotel, where they evaded detection by abandoning their Jeep, and hiding inside a van with curtains in the windows. The next day, as a prank, Aykroyd had John Landis tell Chase that he had been arrested, and should expect them to be coming for him next.
In an interview on Today (1952), Dan Aykroyd said that the movie was intended to star Aykroyd and John Belushi.
The Russian phrase Dan Aykroyd says to the Russian Agents is: "Chem men'she znaesh,' tem loocheh," which translates as: "The less you know, the better."
In 2009, Family Guy (1999) presented something of a sequel to the movie called Spies Reminiscent of Us (2009), featuring Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd as themselves, on another spy mission. They explain that President Reagan appointed them real-life spies after seeing the film.
John Landis: [filmmakers] Appearances by Directors Michael Apted, Martin Brest, Joel Coen, Larry Cohen, Costa-Gavras, Terry Gilliam, Frank Oz, Sam Raimi, filmmaker Ray Harryhausen, Cinematographer Robert Paynter, and Visual Effects Artist Derek Meddings.
John Landis: [See You Next Wednesday] On the recruitment poster behind the desk of the Commander of the Army training post.