• Colin Farrell as Douglas Quaid / Carl Hauser, a factory worker suffering from strange violent dreams. He is revealed to be a former UFB operative assigned by Cohaagen to assassinate Matthias, before his defection to the Resistance and recapture, by manipulating Quaid to his former life.
• Kate Beckinsale as Lori, an abusive UFB undercover agent posing as Quaid's wife.
• Jessica Biel as Melina, a member of the Resistance who is Quaid's love interest.
• Bryan Cranston as Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen, a corrupt and ruthless dictator of the United Federation of Britain who attempts to ignite a full-scale invasion of The Colony.
• Bokeem Woodbine as Harry, who appears to be Quaid's workmate and best friend but is revealed to be an agent sent by Cohaagen to monitor him.
• Bill Nighy as Matthias, the leader of the Resistance. In the Director’s Cut, he is also Melina's father.
• John Cho as McClane/Mac, a rep and tech at Rekall who offers Quaid the chance to experience an imagined adventure.
• Will Yun Lee as Marek, a factory worker who refers Quaid to McClane at Rekall.
• Dylan Scott Smith as Agent Hammond, a rogue UFB agent who helps Quaid.

On June 2, 2009, Variety reported that Kurt Wimmer would write the script for the film. Mark Bomback was later brought on board, and James Vanderbilt did an uncredited "polish" on the script. Over a year later Len Wiseman was hired to direct. Paul Cameron is the film's cinematographer, and Christian Wagner is the film's editor. The soundtrack is a collaboration of Harry Gregson-Williams and Welsh electronica group Hybrid.

Although described in the press as a "remake," star Jessica Biel claimed in her August 2, 2012 appearance on The Daily Show that the film is not a remake of the 1990 film, but an adaptation of the original short story by Philip K. Dick. However, Biel's own character of "Melina" was not actually present in the original short story by Philip K. Dick and exists only in this film and the original 1990 film. The same is true for the characters of Cohaagen and Harry, along with the leader of the Resistance. This version of the film also uses the names Quaid and Lori for the main character and his wife, like the 1990 film, whereas in the original short story they were Quail and Kirsten. The basic story also follows that of the original 1990 film, albeit with certain changes such as keeping the action on Earth rather than Mars. Also, this version does not credit Dick as a writer.

In August 2010, Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed an interest in reprising his role as Quaid, but in October 2010 it was officially reported in The Hollywood Reporter that Colin Farrell was on top of the short list, which included Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender, to play Quaid. On January 11, 2011, it was announced that Farrell had secured the role. Farrell stated in April that the remake would not be the same as Dick's short story. Schwarzenegger ridiculed the film in 2019 saying, "someone tried to do a remake of [Total Recall]. How stupid is that? Jesus!"

Beckinsale and Biel were both confirmed for roles on May 25, after actresses Eva Green, Diane Kruger, and Kate Bosworth had previously been considered for Biel's role. Actor Bryan Cranston was cast as the film's villain. Ethan Hawke was cast in a cameo role, and commented that his character had a monologue about five pages long; however, this role was cut from the theatrical version of film, but is part of the extended Director’s Cut. Later cast additions included Bill Nighy and John Cho.
On a reported budget of $125 million, principal photography began in Toronto on May 16, 2011, and ended on September 20, 2011. Scenes were filmed at the Pinewood Toronto Studios, as well as the University of Toronto, Lower Bay Station, CIBC Commerce Court, the University of Toronto Scarborough, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, and Guelph. The film was shot with Red Epic digital cameras and Panavision anamorphic lenses. After securing the film rights from Miramax, Columbia Pictures distributed the film.

Total Recall was released on August 3, 2012. The Director's Cut includes an extra 12 minutes of footage and there are several key differences compared to the theatrical version. In this version, both Hauser's memory and physical appearance were heavily altered by the UFB to turn him into Quaid, and an uncredited Ethan Hawke portrays Hauser's original appearance in a pre-recorded hologram video. Additionally, Hauser is still working for Cohaagen and plans to get close to Matthias by seducing Melina, who is the Resistance leader's daughter in this version. The Director's Cut ends with Quaid, on finding the real Melina, noticing that his forearm is missing the Rekall symbol he received earlier. Recalling Matthias' words, during their short meeting, that the past blinds us to the present our heart wants, Quaid decides to accept his current world with Melina as real.