Star Trek II was a hit, so Paramount rushed a third film, but its director Nicholas Meyer would not return after clashing over changes to his ending. Leonard Nimoy, who had been excited to play Spock again, asked to direct it himself. Studio chief Michael Eisner hesitated because he wrongly believed Nimoy hated the franchise and had demanded Spock's death in his contract, until Nimoy convinced him otherwise. The writer Harve Bennett built the story backwards from its ending, where Spock says 'Your name is... Jim', and used the Vulcan katra, a soul-like essence, to explain Spock's return. Nimoy also pushed for Klingons as villains, because their hunt for the Genesis device echoed the Cold War race for nuclear weapons.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.