Prior to his actual creation as a character, Beerus was first referenced in the manga chapter “The Zeta Sword” and the episode “Out from the Broken Sword” as the one who sealed Old Kai in the Z Sword. Additionally, Beerus is said to have wiped out the dinosaurs, the thwarting of this incident – leading to dinosaurs continued existence in the present – was seen long prior to his debut in the Dr. Slump chapter “Hello, Moon!”.

The scriptwriter Yūsuke Watanabe originally envisioned Beerus as a villainous character who infects people with evil and was the one who gave the Saiyan race their ruthless characteristics. Also, Beerus originally looked like a lizard, but Toriyama changed his design entirely.