By the time of filming, Richter had compiled a 300-page book called The Essential Buckaroo that consisted of notes and had every incomplete script Mac Rauch wrote over the years. These included various references to a villain named Hanoi Xan, leader of the World Crime League. Begelman was adamant that Across the 8th Dimension would be the one and only Buckaroo movie and that all references to Xan be removed. This included the removal of the original opening, which showed Buckaroo's father being killed by Xan and featuring Jamie Lee Curtis as Buckaroo's mother. The director later described Begelman as "our enemy for the entire movie."