It was originally intended to be a theatrical release starring Tom Berenger reprising his role from the original film but after he declined, the film was rewritten and went straight to cable. He's only referenced briefly by Joey 6 when he meets up with Karl Tomasson after showing him his picture.
Joey 6 was originally played by Raymond Cruz in the original film was unable to reprise his role and replaced by Angel David in this film.
Only the films' writers, Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli are the only ones to return for this sequel. Everyone else either declined or were unavailable to reprise any of their roles from the original film.
When Joey 6 meets up with Karl Tomasson in the train yard early in the film, he references being in his military unit in the Army. This also would mean that Tomasson and his brother, Randall also served with Shale, Tom Berenger's character from the original film at some point in their career since Joey 6 and Tomasson have a strong connection to one another and possibly the other members of Shale's unit featured in the original film.
Originally premiered on HBO.