Chris Rock is a fan of the franchise and pitched the idea to Lionsgate. As a result, they made him one of the lead actors, a co-writer, and executive producer.
Darren Lynn Bousman was unsettled while filming the first scene with Samuel L. Jackson, who played Marcus Banks. He told the actor what to do for a shot, and Jackson said "nah" and added that he was going to sit in a different spot instead. "My butthole puckered," says Bousman; however, after speaking to a friend who had previously worked with Jackson, he realized the actor was just testing him to see if he was a filmmaker who would stand up for what he wanted.
The police basement vault door is manufactured by a company called "Jules and Vincent". This is a reference to the characters played by John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction (1994).
Darren Lynn Bousman wanted a subway tunnel, but he was told the logistics weren't in the budget. He held his ground, and eventually they built a subway tunnel to meet his needs. It's a tiny set that uses forced perspective to make things look bigger than they actually are.
According to director Darren Lynn Bousman, a trap consisting of someone getting their face cut off had to be cut from the film in order for it to receive an R rating from the MPAA.