warriors of future toronto

Toronto made a random uncredited appearance in a Hong Kong sci-fi movie

Aside from a few notable exceptions, Toronto is a city that almost never plays itself on-screen, instead standing in as a generic metropolis for movie producers to transform into higher-profile locales.

But sometimes, there are completely out-of-place cameos that catch us off-guard, like Toronto's latest appearance in a futuristic science-fiction movie produced half a world away in Hong Kong.

If you've scrolled Netflix's never-ending flow of new releases in the last week or so, you may have noticed a glossy trailer featured for Warriors of Future, a visual effects-laden action blockbuster released in Hong Kong and mainland China theatres in August.

And in that trailer, a very familiar-looking cityscape makes an appearance.

Just shy of five minutes into the movie, an establishing shot shows an aerial view of Toronto from around 2019. But instead of our iconic CN Tower, the landscape is dominated by a phalanx of much taller towers, part of the film's central plot.

warriors of future toronto

Set in the not-too-distant year 2055, the film takes place in a world plunged into chaos by war, climate change, and pollution, where large domes are constructed over surviving cities to protect them from the increasingly harsh elements.

If you're looking for a movie peppered with Toronto references and landmarks, Warriors of Future will probably disappoint, as you're really only given a brief flash of the city during the construction of its protective dome, and not even a by-name mention of the 6ix.

It's probably not the type of movie that's going to win any high-level accolades, but if you're looking to see a futurized version of Toronto dropped randomly into a mindless 90-ish-minute action-packed mess, it's not the absolute worst way to spend an afternoon.

Lead photo by

One Cool Film Production/Media Asia Film Production



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