Building facades are up in Diana Krall Plaza, painted only sheets of building-grade plywood. They are poised to serve as a backdrop to a handful of scenes in the program. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

major production

PHOTOS: Additional street closure creating space for HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ filming

May 6, 2024 | 5:25 AM

NANAIMO — Sets are being built and production is just days away from seeing cameras roll.

Crews working in downtown Nanaimo on HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ television series continue prep work ahead of filming beginning at the end of this week.

To accommodate production additional street closures go into effect Monday, May 6 with the 200 block of Skinner St., between Bastion St. and Commercial St. closed.

Barricades also remain up on Wharf St. along with a large section of Diana Krall Plaza, although all businesses on Commercial St. and in the Plaza remain open and accessible for pedestrians.

The final phase of production will see Commercial St. and many area businesses closed beginning May 10, between Terminal Ave. and Bastion St., ahead of two days of filming scheduled to start May 13.

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Diana Krall Plaza remains largely barricaded off with false building faces staged in the normally empty plaza. Access to the Library and credit union branch is maintained for this week. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Filming is expected to focus around the Commercial St., Skinner St., Wharf St., Diana Krall Plaza intersection and include at least two local businesses: Red’s Bakery and Quintessential.

A notice found along Commercial St. said “Bear and Pear Productions Inc.” will be shooting the movie “Mega Sword” during the day and not involve any “gunfire, explosions or any special effects.”

The company name and film title are also being used to shoot other scenes for “The Last Of Us” in Vancouver, prior to filming in Nanaimo.

NanaimoNewsNOW learned around six minutes of footage is expected to be filmed for the show in Nanaimo.

Skinner St., between Quintessential and Red’s Bakery, closes Monday, May 6, with both businesses to be used as interior filming locations on May 12 and 13. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Commercial St. and affected businesses are scheduled to reopen May 16, however crews will remain on site for roughly two weeks while clean-up takes place.

The City of Nanaimo said via email their ongoing upgrades to Terminal Ave. will see some minor interruptions as a result of filming.

Bill Sims, general manager of engineering and public works, said motorists can expect “very temporary delays” along Terminal Ave. when filming looks towards the highway.

Overall disruptions are expected to be considerably less than ongoing impacts as a result of the upgrades.

A rear view of the building setup in Diana Krall Plaza. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

‘The Last of Us’ is based on a video game of the same name and follows two main characters through a post-apocalyptic United States, roughly 20 years into a global fungal outbreak which causes infected people to turn into zombie-like creatures.

Season one of the program focused on storylines contained in the game, which was released in 2013. The second season of the show, currently under production, is expected to follow the game’s 2020 sequel.

While it’s unknown how the scenes shot in Nanaimo will factor into the show, fan theories believe the city is standing in for Seattle.

Shots of the Seattle Aquarium and a pride crosswalk are common in online discussions regarding the production.

More information on the production-related closures is available here.

Red’s Bakery sits at the corner of Skinner St. and Commercial St., and is set to be used as an interior location for filming in mid-May. Directly across the street, false building faces have been constructed by crews. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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