Tom Petty mentioned back in 1982 while filming the video for his song "You Got Lucky" (a post-apocalyptic themed story) he wanted to do a small part in a futuristic movie. He said he wanted to portray a post war character, which he finally did in this movie.
The actors did their own stuntwork on the rope bridge scene and Kevin Costner, a skilled equestrian, did his own horse-riding. He also performed the cable cart scene himself, with the cart winched through the air by helicopter.
The crew referred to the film as "Dirt World" due to the similarities with Kevin Costner's previous post-apocalyptic drama Waterworld (1995).