Cannon, however, was in financial trouble and had to cancel deals with both Mattel and Marvel Entertainment Group, the owners of He-Man and Spider-Man, respectively. Cannon had already spent $2 million on costumes and sets for both films and decided to start a new project in order to recoup that money. Pyun wrote the storyline for Cyborg in one weekend. Pyun had Chuck Norris in mind for the lead, but co-producer Menahem Golan cast Jean-Claude van Damme. The film was shot for less than $500,000 and was filmed in 23 days. The film was shot entirely in Wilmington, North Carolina. Several of the characters' names are references to well-known manufacturers and models of guitars and other musical instruments: Gibson Rickenbacker: Gibson, Rickenbacker Fender Tremolo: Fender, Tremolo arm Marshall Strat: Marshall Amplifiers, Fender Stratocaster Les: Gibson Les Paul Pearl Prophet: Pearl drums, Prophet 5 synthesizer Nady Simmons: Nady Systems, Inc. and Simmons electric drums After the success of Bloodsport, Cannon films offered Jean-Claude van Damme the lead in Delta Force 2, American Ninja 3 or Cyborg. He chose the latter although he later admitted that he did not like that film so much. Jackson "Rock" Pinckney, who played one of Fender's pirates, lost an eye during filming when Jean-Claude van Damme accidentally struck his eye with a prop knife. Pinckney sued Van Damme in a North Carolina court and was awarded $485,000. Violent scenes were heavily cut to gain an R rating rather than an X, including a throat-slitting and some blood and gore during the village massacre. Also excised was the death of a man Van Damme was fighting, which caused an inconsistency that made him look like he suddenly disappeared. Release Cyborg was released in the United States on April 7, 1989. In the Philippines, the film was rereleased as First Hero on August 16, 1995, with "Re Issue" written in small print within the credits of the poster. Comic book To coincide with the film's home video release, Cannon published a one-shot comic book. Narration largely follows the action of the film, although the final fight ends on a cliffhanger. Credited to author Noah Sirk and artists Mike Van Cleave and Pete Von Sholly, it also features behind-the-scenes articles and interviews. The comic was reprinted for limited editions of the film published by French company ESC and Austrian-German company Plaion. Critical response Cyborg received a generally negative reception