Opening credits are preceded by the following prologue: “Despite official denials by leaders of the free world, sources now confirm the existence of Megaforce, a phantom army of super elite fighting men whose weapons are the most powerful science can devise. Their mission…to preserve freedom and justice battling the forces of tyranny and evil in every corner of the globe.”
       According to the 9 Jan 1982 edition of Screen International, screenwriter-director Hal Needham, along with his previous collaborator on The Cannonball Run (1981, see entry), producer Albert S. Ruddy, hired James Whittaker to compose a rough draft of the screenplay, which was later completed by Needham and Ruddy. On 4 Aug 1980, Var reported that Needham also hoped to reteam with The Cannonball Run actor Roger Moore. The 30 Jun 1981 DV stated that executive producer Raymond Chow of Hong Kong’s Golden Harvest Productions considered casting Tom Selleck before beginning principal photography in Sep 1981 for a summer 1982 release. A 19 Aug 1981 HR brief indicated that the start date had changed to Nov 1981, with Michael Douglas as a prospective lead. However, the 22 Nov 1981 LAT reported that filmmakers had only spoken to one actor to play “Ace Hunter”; when negotiations did not work out, Needham eventually decided to make a less serious film, and Bostwick was cast after producers saw him in a Los Angeles, CA, theatrical production of The Pirates of Penzance. Screen International claimed filmmakers submitted the finished script to the U.S. military about three months before production began. According to the 28 Apr 1982 Var, Ruddy made multiple visits to the Pentagon, but the U.S. Department of Defense originally denied their participation in the project, arguing that the script’s suggestion of a U.S. Megaforce squad was “counterproductive.” A 4 May 1982 HR article also suggested that the Motion Picture and Television Liaison Department was concerned about the practical props’ close resemblance to actual, top-secret government property. After Ruddy began scouting locations in South Africa and Israel, however, NV Senator Paul Laxalt was reportedly interested in the $9 million of revenue that the production would bring to the state, and persuaded federal officials to concede on the grounds that the specific location of the Megaforce headquarters was removed from the script.
       On 16 Oct 1981, Var announced that Twentieth Century-Fox had acquired domestic distribution rights for the $18 million film, which was scheduled to be released 25 Jun 1982.
       The 30 Oct 1981 HR production charts confirmed that filming began 19 Oct 1981 in Las Vegas, NV, and Los Angeles. Screen International reported that most of the filming was done at night, forcing the crew to dampen the dusty ground to make it appear dark. As stated in the 31 Oct 1981 LAHExam, no existing studio sound stage could capture the enormity of the Megaforce headquarters; instead, filmmakers used in-camera composite technology called Introvision, placing the actors and a car on a plywood platform in front of a large matte painting. Introvision creator Tom Naud estimated that the system would “save Megaforce $4 million and add $7 million to the look of the movie.”
       An 11 Nov 1981 Var item noted that production had moved from Las Vegas to the nearby area of Jean’s Dry Lake. According to the 12 Nov 1981 DV, Ruddy, who was to receive the “Producer of the Year” award from the National Association of Theatre Owners, invited several thousand of the organization’s members to the set for a barbeque luncheon during the filming of the climactic battle scene. According to the 30 Dec 1981 DV, Bostwick devised the idea for the final battle, which cost an additional $500,000. The 12 Nov 1981 DV story stated that the now $20 million production was expected to finish location work prior to relocating to Hollywood, CA, on 21 Nov 1981, completing principal photography by Christmas 1981, and printing by 15 Apr 1982.
       The 9 Dec 1981 DV stated that filming continued at Hollywood’s Raleigh Studios following what the 10 Dec 1981 HR estimated was five weeks of work in the Las Vegas area. Production notes from AMPAS library files included NV’s Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire State Park, the Edwards Air Force Base in the CA Mojave Desert, the NV Old Gold Strike Railroad tunnel, and “Osita Addit” among the filming locations. The 1/221 Armored Battalion of the Nevada Army National Guard provided multiple M48A5 tanks, personnel carriers, and recovery vehicles, while the Military Air Command produced transport planes and helicopters. According to a 30 Dec 1981 DV story, the U.S. Department of Defense sent two Air Force officers to oversee production, although they are not credited onscreen. Screen International listed their names as Lietutenant Colonel Donald Gilleland and Lieutenant Colonel Guy E. Brown, and noted that the Edwards Air Force Base had allowed the use of planes that were down for regular maintenance and repairs; filmmakers were eventually billed for the use of the military equipment, personnel, and space.
       The 22 Nov 1981 LAT stated that Ruddy and Needham also hired engineer William Fredrick, who built Needham’s Budweiser Rocket car that broke the sound barrier on land in 1979. Fredrick spent eight months and $1 million building thirty rocket-equipped “MotoFighters,” functional at speeds of up to 1,500 miles per hour, which filmmakers hoped to donate to the National Guard following production. Needham also employed stuntmen from his own company, Stunts Unlimited, to work on the picture. While driving his personal motorcycle to set one day, the director was involved in an accident that bruised his hands and damaged three ribs, leaving him temporarily incapacitated and requiring Ruddy to supervise the production’s second unit.
       According to the 29 Dec 1981 HR, actress Persis Khambatta’s last day of shooting involved a death scene, which does not occur in the final film. A 30 Dec 1981 DV news story reported that production was completed in a total of nine weeks.
       A 25 Nov 1981 DV brief included Peter Malamphy among the cast, although he is not credited onscreen.
       The 7 May 1982 LAT reported that the Mattel toy company created spandex jumpsuits for the film, but would not receive onscreen costume credit. An undated HR item indicated that Mattel also signed a licensing agreement with Golden Harvest to produce a special line of toys that would be released in summer 1982. A 28 Apr 1982 Var article estimated Fox’s marketing costs at $7 million, while the 4 May 1982 HR budgeted a $7.8 million advertising campaign and $1.5-2 million for promotional tie-ins before the film’s release in 1,500 theaters. According to the 28 Apr 1982 LAHExam, the U.S. National Guard agreed to send thirty-one of the tanks, cannons, and other vehicles used in the picture on a nationwide promotional and recruitment tour. The 4 May 1982 HR stated that the National Guard also created a public service announcement with Barry Bostwick and Henry Silva, which would earn the film about $2 million of free public air time. Megaforce was included in the Cannes Film Festival lineup that month, and LAHExam reported that U.S. Army Colonel Jim Shannon was expected to attend a screening in Los Angeles on 5 May 1982.
       According to the 23 Jun 1982 DV, Megaforce was scheduled to open without advance previews for the press. A 21-27 May 1982 LA Weekly story reported that Quaker activist Julius Neelly planned to protest the film on behalf of the World Without War Media organization against violent, pro-war images in popular culture.
       Plans for a sequel developed in mid-Dec 1981, before principal photography was complete: the 30 Dec 1981 DV indicated that Needham had already written fifty-five pages of the screenplay, and that the decision to continue developing the Caribbean-set sequel would be made within weeks of Megaforce’s release. Production was tentatively scheduled to begin Aug 1982. However, the 4 May 1982 HR anticipated the sequel’s script would be finished within the month, for a Jan 1983 start date in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The 22 Nov 1981 LAT noted that Bostwick had signed a three-picture deal for more Megaforce films. As a result of poor box office returns and largely negative reviews, production on additional Megaforce films did not move ahead.