Filming in Vancouver: Katie Holmes, John Cena, A Million Little Things, and more

Katie Holmes will come to B.C. to film The Boy 2.

Everyone may be busy rushing as we head towards Christmas and New Year’s Eve—but there’s another source of local activity.

This week, there are lots of film and TV productions coming and going from Vancouver and B.C.—and there are some big names attached to these projects, which span a wide range of genres from drama to horror to comedy.

And we’ve got a peek at what’s coming in the new year.

With so much going on, here’s a roundup of what’s happening in Vancouver’s (and B.C.’s) screen scene.

Owain Yeoman will star in The Boy 2.

B.C. recently had the horror feature Child’s Play, based upon the murderous toy pal named Chucky, filming in Vancouver. Now another horror with a deadly doll will be coming to the province.

The Boy 2, directed by William Brent Bell (The Devil Inside), starts shooting on January 28 on Vancouver Island, where its predecessor was filmed, and will continue until March 7.

The Boy

In the 2016 horror feature The Boy (which was shot in Victoria on Vancouver Island), an American woman (Lauren Cohan) is hired as a nanny in a remote English village, only to discover that the Heelshire family is taking care of a lifelike porcelain doll to compensate for the loss of their son Brahms 20 years ago.

The cast also included Rupert Evans, Jim Norton, and Diana Hardcastle.

In the sequel, a family moves into the Heelshire Mansion, oblivious to the dark history of the estate. Soon, their son becomes friends with a lifelike doll called Brahms.

Katie Holmes (Batman Begins) and Owain Yeoman (The Belko Experiment) have been cast in the roles of the parents, while Christopher Convery (Gotham) will play their son. They’ll also be joined by Ralph Ineson (Ready Player One).

Katie Holmes

After that, another film featuring children that’s far more upbeat is set to get underway.

Playing with Fire, directed by Andrew Fickman (Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2), begins on February 4 (with production based in Burnaby) and wraps on March 29.

In this family comedy, a group of firefighters are put to the test when they rescue a trio of rowdy children.

Thus far, the only cast member announced is WWE wrestler John Cena (Blockers) so we’ll have to wait to see who else joins this raucous party.

John Cena

Moving on to home-screen news, the new TV series A Million Little Things is scheduled to finish production on Season 1 on Wednesday (December 12), after beginning on July 24.

David Giuntoli

In this ABC ensemble dramedy, Vancouver plays Boston, where a close group of friends is shaken up after one of them commits suicide.

The cast includes David Giuntoli, Allison Miller, Christina Moses, Grace Park, Christina Ochoa, James Roday, Romany Malco, Stéphanie Szostak, Tristan Byon, and Lizzy Greene.

Grace Park

The series had its premiere on TV back on September 26.

Moving from into different matters of the heart, a TV series underway is based upon a romance novel series.

Romany Malco

Virgin River began shooting 10 episodes for Season 1 on December 3 and will continue until March 26, 2019.

The series, based on the book series by Robyn Carr, revolves around Melinda Munroe, who takes a job as a nurse practitioner in the remote Californian town of Virgin River to leave behind painful memories.

Chad Rook

However, contrary to her expectations, she finds that smalltown life is more complicated than she thought and that she must heal herself before she can fully feel at home in her new surroundings.

The only cast member announced so far is Canadian actor Chad Rook (Siren) and a release date hasn’t been announced yet.

Alexandra Shipp

Meanwhile over in the Okanagan, the feature film Endless (formerly entitled Undying) wrapped up production on December 8.

It started back on November 13, with production centred in Kelowna.

In this romance-drama-fantasy directed by Scott Speer (Step Up Revolution), two 19-year-olds who are madly in love—Riley, played by Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Apocalypse), and Chris, played by Nicholas Hamilton (It)—are struck by tragedy when they’re caught up in an accident.

Riley survives but Chris becomes suspended in a limbo between life and death—Chris can only watch Riley grieve until they find a way to reconnect.

In addition to Shipp, the cast also features another X-Men alum: Famke Janssen, who portrayed Jean Grey in the X-Men film series (which were also shot in Vancouver).

The cast also includes Ian Tracey, Patrick Gilmore, Catherine Lough Haggquist, BJ Harrison, and more.

Famke Janssen

And that’s all for this week, but as you can see, even though there are production ending, there are plenty more on the way to look forward to, especially with the new year right around the corner.

As we head deep into the holiday season, don’t forget to check back in again with us as we keep track of what’s going down on the busy streets of Vancouver (and British Columbia).

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