- During May 2019, Suriya was reported to work on a project backed by Sun Pictures, in his third collaboration with them after Ayan (2009) and Singam (2010).
- The film was speculated to be directed by Hari, who had previously worked with Suriya in Aaru (2005), Vel (2007) and the Singam franchise, but he eventually exited the project without revealing the actual reasons.
- They later collaborated on another film titled Aruvaa, which was produced by Studio Green. But this project was also shelved and Suriya chose to do a film with Pandiraj instead of a project with either Adanga Maru director Karthik Thangavel or an unnamed Telugu director.
- Pandiraj earlier worked with Suriya, whose production company 2D Entertainment had backed his projects Pasanga 2, which had the latter playing a supporting character and Karthi’s Kadaikutty Singam.
- On the occasion of Dusshera (25 October 2020), Sun Pictures confirmed the project under the title Suriya 40, which deciphers to Suriya’s 40th film as a lead actor; it also marked Pandiraj’s second film with the production house after their collaboration with Namma Veettu Pillai.
- Unlike Pandiraj’s earlier films, which were based on family emotions and sentiments, such as Kadaikutty Singam and Namma Veettu Pillai, this film was an action film, with space for commercial elements.
- This is known to be Pandiraj’s second action-based film, after Kathakali. Pandiraj reportedly wrote the story, which is based on the 2019 Pollachi sexual assault case.
- The film’s title Etharkkum Thunindhavan was officially announced on the eve of Suriya’s birthday (22 July 2021), which refers to the 1976 film of the same name, that starred his father Sivakumar in the lead role.
- The film was launched on 15 February 2021, with the attendance of the principal cast and crew members, excluding Suriya as he was diagnosed with COVID-19. The makers filmed few scenes with the ensemble cast without Suriya.
- After recovering from COVID-19, Suriya joined the film’s shooting on 18 March 2021. He shared the shooting still from the film at Binny Mills in Chennai on social media handles, confirming his presence.
- An action sequence with a huge crowd was planned to be filmed, but due to the restrictions imposed by the Tamil Nadu government due to the second wave of COVID-19, the plan was dropped considering the safety of the crew members working on the film. By late April 2021, 35% of the film’s shooting had been completed before the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed.
- With the completion of patchwork scenes, the makers wrapped the shooting of the film on 10 November 2021, and Pandiraj shared the news through Twitter. Post-wrap-up, Suriya gifted gold coins worth ₹1 crore (US$130,000) to the actors and technicians who worked in the film to make it a memorable experience for the team.
- Post-production works began in mid-November 2021, after the completion of the film’s production. Suriya began dubbing for the film on 17 November. Vinay Rai completed dubbing for his role on 24 December 2021. Post-production works were completed in late December 2021, and the final copy was ready by January 2022.
- The film was released in theatres worldwide on 10 March 2022, along with dubbed versions in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada. It received positive reviews from critics and grossed ₹175–200 crore worldwide. The film was initially scheduled for theatrical release on 24 December 2021, coinciding with the Christmas weekend.
- The satellite rights of the film were acquired by Sun TV Network, while the digital rights were acquired jointly by Sun NXT and Netflix. The film was released on both platforms on 7 April 2022.
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