Toronto’s Aircraft Pictures and Florida-based Dolphin Entertainment have started production on the adaptation of the American 1986 sports drama Youngblood.

Principal photography is currently underway in Hamilton and Barrie, Ont. Filming began at the end of January and will take place over five weeks, a spokesperson for the film told Playback Daily.

Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Hubert Davis (Black Ice) is set to direct the film, which follows a hockey prodigy from Detroit, played by Boxcutter actor Ashton James (pictured), who joins the fictional Hamilton Mustangs in Ontario.

Youngblood is based on a script by Josh Epstein, Kyle Rideout, Seneca Aaron and the late Charles Officer, who was originally attached to direct before his death in 2023. Aircraft’s Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen are producers. Dolphin’s Bill O’Dowd and Emerson Davis are executive producers alongside Photon Films’ Mark Slone and Zanne Devine.

The cast includes Blair Underwood (Longlegs), Shawn Doyle (The Expanse), Alexandra McDonald (Night Blooms), Henri Picard (The Dishwasher), Donald MacLean Jr. (Workin’ Moms), Olunike Adeliyi (The Expanse), Emidio Lopes (Painkiller) and Tamara Podemski (Outer Range).

The original Youngblood starred Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves in his feature film debut.

The adaptation is produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada and the Talent Fund, Ontario Creates and the Shaw Rocket Fund. Photon Films is the Canadian theatrical distributor.

“Youngblood is not an homage to the movies of the ’80s but a re-orienting of these films and ideas — especially those about masculinity, which my generation grew up on,” said Davis in a statement. “Through our protagonist, we explore the nuances of the Black masculine experience via the camaraderie, brutality and triumph of the world of hockey.”

Photo by Shawn Goldberg