Last week, the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) union went on strike to demand that the studios, including Disney, improve working conditions and increase pay for actors.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that filming on the upcoming FX series, “Alien”, would continue in Thailand. However, without its two main cast, who are members of the SAG union, with plans to continue filming as much of the upcoming series as possible without them, since they’ve booked out multiple Bangkok studios and hired vast quantities of lighting equipment. The script for the show was also completed before the Writes Guild Of America went on strike in May, which is why filming can continue, though no changes can be made to the script.

The new “Alien” series was initially announced at the Disney Investor Day in 2020, which is set within the classic 20th Century Studios franchise and is being created by Noah Hawley and Ridley Scott. The new series is set not too far into our future, and it’s the first Alien story set on Earth. It blends both the timeless horror of the first “Alien” film with the non-stop action of the second and will take place before Ripley.

While filming on the majority of projects in the United States have been suspended until the strike is over. Internationally, things are a little different, as with the new “Alien” series, the production team are using local actors in addition to actors who belong to the British union, Equity, who aren’t on strike and their members are unable to join SAG members on strike, without potentially being sued for a breach of contract. The new FX series is also an Equity production, which is why work is continuing in Thailand.

Deadline has revealed that British actor, Alex Lawther signed up for the series before the strike began and is now in Thailand filming the new show, where he is playing a soldier called CJ. Alex Lawther has previously starred in the Channel 4 series, “The End Of The F*cking World” and the Disney+ Original series, “Star Wars: Andor”. It’s also been revealed that another British actor, Samuel Blenkin (Black Mirror), will also be starring in the series as Boy Kavalier, who is the CEO. With Australian, Essie Davis (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) playing Dame Silvia and Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger), who is from India, playing the role of Slightly.

The rest of the cast for the show hasn’t yet been revealed, except for Sydney Chandler, who is an American actress, who starred in the British FX series, “Pistol” and the film “Don’t Worry Darling”. And Deadline has confirmed that she was “not in production” on the new show.

This new “Alien” series will be coming to Hulu in the United States and will be released internationally on Disney+.  And the previous “Alien” films are available to stream now on Disney+ in many countries, including the UK, Canada and Australia.

Are you excited about a new “Alien” series? Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

View all posts