Oliver Reed played the role of Doyle Lonnegan, which he turned down in The Sting (1973). Robert Shaw was cast instead.
A further 'Sting' movie was planned around the time of the production and release of this sequel. This film was intended to be prequel to The Sting (1973) and cover the early life of Henry Gondorff who was played by Paul Newman in the original. The prequel was to show him being mentored The Hustler (1961)-style by famed con man Soapy Smith. When 'The Sting II' failed at the box office, plans for this third 'Sting' movie were dropped.
Paul Newman and Robert Redford who played Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker in The Sting (1973) do not reprise their roles in this sequel. To fill their shoes, Jackie Gleason and Mac Davis played Fargo Gondorff and Jake Hooker. They are however, despite having similar names and the same surnames, not the same characters from the original movie.
This movie story takes place in 1940, four years after the first movie.
This movie performed poorly box at the box office, as well in its critical reception. It paled in comparison to the original 'Sting' film, notable for its music score and being nominated for 10 Academy Awards and winning 7 including Best Picture. Amazingly, this sequel actually garnered one Academy Award nomination, for Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation, or Best Adaptation Score, for Lalo Schifrin.