The Boys Season 2 Forced to Find New Filming Location After Resident Protest

Though star Karl Urban confirmed this week that he's completed filming his scenes for the second season of Amazon's The Boys, cameras are still rolling on the shows next batch of episodes. For one scene that is yet to be filmed though, the producers have elected to find a new location after complaints from citizens of Toronto. According to the Toronto Sun, The Boys was scheduled to film a scene in Mel Lastman Square, an area that has become "memorial site" for the victims of the 2018 Toronto van attack which left 10 people dead and 16 injured with the accused awaiting trial. In typical The Boys fashion the scene would have feature a lot of simulated violence in addition to a crowd of people screaming. The official production company disclosed the scene as being an attack by a rogue superhero featuring a "considerable amount of fake blood."

Toronto Councillor John Filion told the Sun he "flipped out" after hearing of this development, calling the use of the square as a filming location "disrespectful" and noting that the potential confusion if another attack isn't what caused his concern."It's about people literally re-living those events. It's disrespectful to even think of it...Even if nobody had seen anything, it's still disrespectful. I guess somebody just wasn't thinking." Following the outcry by citizens of the city, Chief Communications Officer for the City of Toronto Brad Ross confirmed on Twitter that the production had chosen to film the scene elsewhere.

"The City is looking at its processes to ensure absolute clarity about what is being filmed in public spaces, especially in locations that may be sensitive, such as Mel Lastman Square and the Danforth," he tweeted. "The producers of this production, in the end, opted to not shoot a scene at Mel Lastman Square today — the City did not cancel the permit. We will work with the producers of this production to find another, suitable location to meet their needs."

Starring alongside Urban in The Boys are Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Antony Starr, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tom Capon, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, and Elizabeth Shue. The series is executive produced by Preacher's Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, as well as Supernatural and Timeless' Erik Kripke. Season 2 is expected to premiere in mid-2020.

Are you excited to check out Season 2 of The Boys? Do you think the production made the right decision in moving their filming location? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Boys Season 1 is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

(H/T TV Guide)