The similarity of the unknown man to a Vorlon was deliberate. Executive producer J. Michael Straczynski wanted it to be known that a million years in the future, humans became the new Vorlons, which left unsaid a number of possible implications: first, that Vorlons might have once looked like humans; second, that history was repeating itself.
In the short scene where Daniel twists the historical record, and changes Sheridan into a power-hungry dictator, Bruce Boxleitner loved it. Since he rarely plays villains, he performed the role with gusto.
This episode was filmed at the beginning of the fifth season. The final episode of Season 5, Sleeping in Light (1998), was actually filmed at the end of the fourth season. At the time that production on the fourth season wrapped, it was still unclear whether a fifth season would be produced or if the show would be canceled. When the show was renewed, they filled the last slot in the fourth season with a new episode, and showed Sleeping in Light (1998) at the end of the series. As all story arcs of Season 4 had been resolved in Rising Star (1997), they couldn't add another "normal" episode so it was decided to produce an episode set in the future.
Many viewers were dismayed when shown Earth 1,000 years after Babylon 5, in a new Dark Age. Executive producer J. Michael Straczynski justified it by pointing out that in reality, there are no happy endings.
The photograph of Sheridan taken during his service in the Earth-Minbari War is a still from the prequel television film Babylon 5: In the Beginning (1998).