Filming in Vancouver: Jason Momoa, Seth Rogen, Child’s Play, Chesapeake Shores, and more

While this week’s roundup of what’s shooting in Vancouver has a recurring theme of projects revolving around child characters, they may not be what you expect at all.

To wit, there’s a sci-fi babysitting TV series, a horror remake, and an R-rated comedy (yes, an R-rated film about kids!).

But there are lot of other things in the mix, including a new sci-fi TV series with a rising action star, a potential new TV series about warrior witches, and some productions that recently wrapped nearby in B.C.

Here’s a look at what’s been coming and going from Vancouver’s screen scene and elsewhere in the province.

Although in June we briefly mentioned the forthcoming Apple TV series See, which will shoot 10 episodes of its first season from September 17 to February 8, details were extremely thin about the show.

But since then, Hawaiian star Jason Momoa (Justice League) was announced to have been chosen for the main role of warrior, guardian, and leader Baba Voss, living in a future world where the human race has gone blind. The cast will also include Yadira Guevara-Prip and Alfre Woodard.

Momoa will also get the spotlight in the upcoming Aquaman feature film, to be released on December 21.

Meanwhile, some homegrown talent, who currently have a production shooting in town, are receiving some national honours.

The Vancouver-born comedy team of Seth Rogen and screenwriter-director Evan Goldberg, who worked together on the likes of Superbad, Pineapple Express, The Interview, and The Disaster Artist, are producing the comedy feature Good Boys (starring Vancouver’s Jacob Tremblay), about a group of boys who embark upon a quest to get a toy fixed, which started on July 23 and continues until September 11.

The duo are among the Canadians who will be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto on December 1.

Meanwhile, when you’re taking public transit in Vancouver, you might recognize a familiar voice.

That’s because Rogen was selected as a guest announcer to make public announcements on local buses and SkyTrains.

So in other words, if you want to get on Rogen’s good side, it’s best not to take up empty seat space with your bag.

Erstwhile, there’s another feature film that will shoot in Vancouver that involves kids—but in a much darker genre.

The 1988 slasher film Child’s Play, about a toy doll named Chucky possessed by a serial killer, is getting a remake. It’ll be directed by Lars Klevberg (Polaroid) and will film in Vancouver from September 10 to October 19.

The original film, directed by Tom Holland, spawned a series of films (in which Chucky got married and had his own spawn) that somehow spiralled into comedy-horror.

The cast for the remake hasn’t been announced yet.

Meanwhile back on the lighter side of things, a youth-based TV series that gets going today (July 30) is Gabby Duran the the Unsittables, which shoots its first season from July 30 to August 7.

This Disney Channel TV series is based on the tween novel series by Elise Allen and Daryle Conners about an extremely gifted babysitter who takes care of both human and alien children. But she faces one of her biggest challenges when she’s assigned to take care of an extremely volatile alien.

The cast for this series also hasn’t been announced yet so stay tuned.

The TV pilot for a potential new series, Motherland, filmed here from July 9 to 26.

The story is set in an alternate reality in which the persecution of witches in the U.S. ended when they struck a deal to defend the country. The series focuses on three main women training in witchcraft as they prepare to fight terrorism with their magical abilities.

The three main witches are played by Taylor Hickson (Deadpool), Kelcey Mawema (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before), and Jessica Sutton (The Kissing Booth).

The cast also includes Amalia Holm and Demtria McKinney.

Executive producers for the show include Will Ferrell (Anchorman) and his comedy partner Adam McKay.

We’ll have to wait to see if this pilot is greenlit to become a full-fledged TV series so if this sounds like a show you’d watch, keep your fingers crossed. (Or maybe cast a lucky spell.)

Other projects that recently wrapped up in B.C. include the feature film A Score to Settle, which had production based in Kelowna and filmed in locations such as Vernon and around the B.C. Interior from July 3 to 23.

The action-thriller, directed by Shawn Ku (Beautiful Boy), stars Nicolas Cage as a former enforcer, after spending 22 years for being wrongfully imprisons, sets out to inflict violent revenge upon his former crime bosses—but becomes conflicted due to his new relationship with his son.

The cast also includes Noah Le Gros, Benjamin Bratt, Karolina Wydra, Mohamed Karim, and local actor Ian Tracey.

Over on coastal B.C., the Hallmark Channel TV series Chesapeake Shores, about a New York City career woman who returns to her Maryland hometown to take care of her family inn, filmed Season 3 from April 17 to July 18 on Vancouver Island (with production based in Parksville).

The good news for fans is that Season 3 is just around the corner: it’s scheduled to premiere on August 5.

With that in mind, there’ll be plenty more to cover in the weeks to come so until we meet again, have fun whether you’re star-spotting on the streets of Vancouver or spotting Vancouver in films or TV series.