In 2016, a new collaboration between Akshay Kumar and Baby director Neeraj Pandey was announced. The duo had previously collaborated on Special 26, Baby, and Rustom, which had the filmmaker in the capacity of a producer. "This time, we come together for 'CRACK' - A Neeraj Pandey film. Releases Independence Day weekend 2017. Need your love," Akshay Kumar had tweeted. However, the film never released and reports of it being shelved started doing the rounds.

Later in 2017, Pandey informed us that the psychological thriller will roll in 2018, saying that they are still working on the script. Now, in an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Pandey shares, "It's on the back-burner with no immediate plans of revival. I was not happy with the script, but if I manage to crack something good in the future, I might (revive it)."