Gerard Bush got the idea from a nightmare he once had. He initially thought it would be a good basis for a short story, but he later developed it with co-director Christopher Renz into a screenplay for a feature film.
Directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz stated that they actually acquired the lenses used to shoot Gone with the Wind (1939), in order to create the same feel of that movie, but at the same time "correct" it, by showing a more accurate depiction of the antebellum period, especially the treatment of slaves.
Despite the marketing implying otherwise, Jordan Peele had no direct involvement with this film. The producer in question is Sean McKittrick, who produced Get Out (2017) and Us (2019).
Originally scheduled as a big-screen theatrical release, the film debuted as a PPV home streaming released on September 18th 2020 due to ongoing worldwide pandemic.