This was the last Bond film co-produced by both Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman; Saltzman sold his 50% stake in Danjaq, LLC to United Artists after the film's release to alleviate his financial problems, delaying production of The Spy Who Loved Me by three years.

An earlier attempt to make The Man with the Golden Gun right after You Only Live Twice was cancelled because planned filming in Cambodia became impractical due to the Samlaut Uprising and Roger Moore's commitments to The Saint; On Her Majesty's Secret Service was made instead.

Locations considered before settling on Thailand included Beirut, Israel, Iran (scouted but dropped due to the Yom Kippur War), and Ha Long Bay in North Vietnam; Thailand was ultimately chosen after production designer Peter Murton saw magazine photos of Phuket bay.

During location scouting in Hong Kong, producer Albert Broccoli spotted the wreckage of the RMS Queen Elizabeth and came up with the idea of using it as MI6's secret Far East base in the film.

The role of Scaramanga was first offered to Jack Palance, who turned it down, before Christopher Lee was cast; Lee was Ian Fleming's step-cousin, and Fleming had originally suggested him for the villain in Dr. No, though he'd already been cast with Joseph Wiseman by the time Lee found out.

Because filming took him to Bangkok, Christopher Lee's commitment to this film caused him to miss out on playing The Specialist in the 1975 film Tommy, a role that went to Jack Nicholson instead.

Britt Ekland became upset upon hearing Maud Adams had been cast, mistakenly believing Adams had taken the lead role of Mary Goodnight that Ekland wanted; Broccoli then called to offer Ekland the part after seeing her in another film and deciding her looks contrasted well with Adams.

Scaramanga's golden gun prop was assembled from everyday objects: an interlocking fountain pen as the barrel, a cigarette lighter as the bullet chamber, a cigarette case as the handle, and a cufflink as the trigger, with the golden bullet stored in his belt buckle.

One of the original golden gun props, valued at around £80,000, was discovered missing (suspected stolen) from Elstree Props in October 2008.

The AMC Matador flying car stunt car measured 30 feet long with its wings attached and was not airworthy, so a 39-inch remote-controlled model built by John Stears was used for the aerial shots, filmed at Bovington Camp.

The famous corkscrew car jump with an AMC Hornet was first tested via an early computer simulation at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory before being performed live by stuntman Loren 'Bumps' Willert, who completed the jump successfully on the first take and received a $30,000 bonus on the spot.

Composer John Barry added a slide whistle sound effect over the corkscrew car jump stunt, a choice he later regretted, feeling it undercut what was otherwise a genuinely dangerous and impressive stunt.

Alice Cooper wrote and recorded his own song titled 'Man with the Golden Gun' for consideration as the theme, but producers chose Lulu's version instead; Cooper released his song on his album Muscle of Love.

The film's relatively modest box office returns compared to Live and Let Die reportedly put the continuation of the Bond franchise in jeopardy, and the series went on hiatus until The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977.