"Battle Beyond the Stars" was budgeted at an estimated $2,000,000. At the time of its release, it was the most expensive film produced by Roger Corman. Much of the budget allegedly went toward paying the salaries of George Peppard and Robert Vaughn, since both of screenwriter Sayles' previous films were low-budget productions. To save on costs, the film was produced in Corman's own studio, his "renowned lumberyard facility" in Venice, California. Initially, the film came out of producer Roger Corman's desire to make a space opera-style film in the wake of the massive worldwide success of "Star Wars". Up-and-coming screenwriter John Sayles had already written the Corman-produced "The Lady in Red" and "Piranha", the latter of which was both a financial and critical success. At one point, Australian director Richard Franklin "(Patrick, Psycho II") was attached to direct. However, he was replaced by Jimmy T. Murakami, a veteran animator who had previously been an uncredited co-director on Corman's "Humanoids from the Deep".