James Marsden
In this week’s look at what’s filming in Vancouver, there’s everything from prehistoric creatures and martial arts to satanic superbeings and post-apocalyptic drama.
A dinosaur blockbuster has departed from this part of the world for shoots elsewhere, taking with it some big Hollywood names.
In its place are several other projects, including a TV pilot in which part of a family finds themselves immersed in a mysterious primeval world after a sinkhole rips open in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, the 1970s are a recurring theme in source material this week.
A TV adaptation of a 1970s post-apocalyptic horror-fantasy novel calls it a wrap while a ‘70s martial-arts TV series gets rebooted with an update for the identity of the lead character.
Speaking of adaptations, two hellish Marvel Comics characters are making the transition from page to screen with a fiery new TV series.
So if any or all of this interests you, here’s our roundup of what’s happening in Vancouver’s screen scene.
Chris Pratt
In what seemed to be the blink of an eye, Jurassic World 3, also known as Jurassic World: Dominion, stomped in and out of British Columbia.
The production, based in Burnaby, began shooting at various locations around the province on February 24, including Vancouver Island and Merritt. It was slated to end on March 6 (though some production sheets list it as having ending on March 2).
Bryce Dallas Howard
This blockbuster, a follow-up to 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and directed by Colin Trevorrow (who directed 2015’s Jurassic World), will also be shooting in Hawaii, Malta, and the U.K.
Daniela Pineda
The cast includes a lot of familiar names, as well as some new ones: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Mamoudou Athie, DeWanda Wise, B.D. Wong, Justice Smith, Omar Sy, Daniella Pineda, Isabella Sermon, Jake Johnson, Dichen Lachman, and Scott Haze.
Jake Johnson
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), the plot still remains under wraps.
And don’t expect to see the final results anytime soon—this third instalment in the Jurassic World trilogy will hit theatres on June 11, 2021.
Whoopi Goldberg
Another production with big names attached to it, but for home screens, is also calling it a wrap.
The Stand, which began filming on September 16, finishes up filming on Thursday (March 11).
Alexander Skarsgård
This CBS All Access TV miniseries, based on Stephen King’s novel, follows a group of survivors and 108-year-old Mother Abigail (Whoopi Goldberg) who hold the fate of humanity in their hands as a struggle between good and evil develops between them in a world decimated by plague.
Amber Heard
The cast includes James Marsden, Amber Heard, Greg Kinnear, Odessa Young, Henry Zaga, Jovan Adepo, Owen Teague, Alexander Skarsgård, Brad William Henke, Daniel Sunjata, Nat Wolff, Eion Bailey, Katherine McNamara, Heather Graham, Hamish Linklater, Marilyn Manson, and more.
Marilyn Manson
A release date has yet to be announced so stay tuned.
Sydney Lemmon
The web series Marvel’s Helstrom completes shooting 10 episodes for Season 1 on Thursday (March 12), having begun back on October 4.
Tom Austen
In this Hulu adaptation of Marvel Comics characters for the home screen, Daimon and Ana (known as Santana in the comics) Helstrom—played by Tom Austen and Sydney Lemmon—are the son and daughter of a powerful and enigmatic serial killer, who hunt down the worst of humanity.
Alain Uy
The cast also includes Elizabeth Marvel, Robert Wisdom, Ariana Guerra, June Carryl, and Alain Uy.
We’ll have to wait to see when the premiere date will be announced for this one.
Ariana Guerra
Meanwhile, TV pilot season is underway and two more pilots take off this week.
The first is a remake of a classic martial-arts TV series—but with a gender and racial twist this time.
Olivia Liang
A TV pilot for Kung Fu, directed by Hanelle Culpepper (Star Trek: Picard), is slated to shoot from today (March 9) to March 31.
This CW reboot of the series that ran from 1972 to 1975 starring David Carradine stars Olivia Liang as a young Chinese-American woman who, experiencing a quarter-life crisis, drops out of college and embarks upon a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China.
Tzi Ma
However, when she returns home to find crime and corruption has overtaken her town, she employs her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community while trying to track down the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is hunting her down.
The cast also includes Tzi Ma, Kheng Hua Tan, Jon Prasida, Shannon Dang, and Eddie Liu.
Kheng Hua Tan
After that one gets going, it’s La Brea turn tomorrow (March 10) to start filming until March 26.
In this potential high-concept drama series, when a humungous sinkhole opens up in Los Angeles, a mother and son are separated from a father and daughter.
Natalie Zea
Half of the family find themselves in a strange primeval world with a hodge-podge group of strangers who must work together to survive and figure out how to get back home.
The cast includes Jon Seda, Natalie Zea, Michael Raymond-James, and Zyra Gorecki as the family along with Karina Logue, Caleb Ruminer, Chiké Okonkwo, Veronica St. Clair, Jag Bal, and Rita Angel Taylor.
Jag Bal
We’ll have to wait to see if these pilots get greenlit to become full series and join in on Vancouver’s screen scene.
Karina Logue
In the weeks ahead, we’ll see what else will be coming and going from Hollywood North so until we meet again, have fun Vancouver-spotting on a screen near you.
Chiké Okonkwo
