The idea for Jeff Daniels character to be revealed as the antagonist at the end of the film came about because it was actually a rejected idea that was proposed in an earlier film Daniels had starred in, the blockbuster Speed (1994). In that film Daniels was the police officer partner to Keanu Reeves. Originally the screenplay was meant for Daniels character of Reeves' partner Harry to start off as a protagonist cop, but it was later revealed that Daniels character was in fact a crooked policeman who in fact was a mad bomber who bombed various public transit systems for ransom, revealing him as the films main antagonist. However as Speed was in its final writing process the producers and directors didnt think that audiences would accept the plot twist with the character. So Daniels character of Harry was rewritten as being an all around protagonist cop assisting Reeves in trying to diffuse explosives while the mad bomber was written as a separate character who was ultimately played by the late Dennis Hopper. Daniels told director and star Clint Eastwood this story during pre-production about the changes that took place while making Speed. Eastwood was unaware of this fact about the film and thought he could re-work that formula into his new film, so Daniels character was written as a protagonist who assists Eastwood until the very end of the film when it is revealed that he is in fact the main antagonist.

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