Trigger Warning

The original spec screenplay for Trigger Warning was written by Josh Olson and John Brancato in 2016 — five years before the picture was shot and eight years ahead of its eventual release. The script was billed as a blend of female takes on First Blood (1982) and John Wick (2014).

Thunder Road Films acquired the spec in 2016, with Basil Iwanyk (best known as the producer of the John Wick films) and Erica Lee attached as producers. In May 2020 Netflix joined the production, Jessica Alba was cast to lead and also served as one of the producers, and Indonesian director Mouly Surya was appointed to helm the project, marking her first English‑language film. In September 2021 screenwriter and former actress Halley Gross was brought in to rewrite the original script, shortly after co‑writing the video game The Last of Us Part II (2020), for which she won awards. Filming took place in New Mexico in autumn 2021, between September and October. Netflix then shelved the film for over two and a half years before finally releasing it.