General Commander was originally envisaged and marketed as a television series following "a top secret, rogue international paramilitary unit that fights major criminal organisations in a bid to stop World War III", based on a screenplay by Philipe Martinez and Bey Logan and produced by SPI International and Saradan Media. The series would have had nine episodes each with a runtime of 45 minutes.
While shooting scenes for General Commander, lead actor Steven Seagal also redid some scenes in the film Attrition that was also set in the Philippines.
When producers ran out of money, they offered to pay for Seagal's salary with daily McDonalds meals during shooting and for a full semester after the wrap up party. They only paid for two more months, and Seagal took Martinez to court. The case was settled for an undisclosed number of Big Macs.
General Commander was released in Blu-ray and DVD on May 28, 2019.