It turns out that the script by Justin Malen — which made the Black List back in 2011 — went through some pretty significant alterations with Sher’s input, including a number of the major characters.
In the movie, the potential dads are played by Terry Bradshaw, J.K. Simmons, and Christopher Walken, but with the exception of Bradshaw the initial idea would have had them playing extremely different roles.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Lawrence Sher earlier this month during the Los Angeles press day for Father Figures, and during our discussion learned quite a bit how the film changed over the course of its development.