Following the news of the Screen Actor’s Guild going on strike on Friday, the majority of projects currently filming in the United States have now had to be suspended until the strike is over. However, internationally, things are a little different.

One of the series that the strike has impacted is the FX series, “Alien”, which is a new series that was initially announced at the Disney Investor Day in 2020, that 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.

The new series is currently in pre-production in Thailand, and due to the size of the project, it has booked out
multiple Bangkok studios and hired vast quantities of lighting equipment.

Filming on the new show is set to continue since most of the actors in the series are either members of other trade unions, such as Equity, who are still required to work.  However, the two main cast are SAG actors, so the production is apparently going to work around the absence of those SAG actors.  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”.

According to Variety, who spoke with a senior executive at a European production studio, who suggested if the majority of actors on international productions aren’t SAG members, they could end up being replaced, if the strike looks to be going on too long.

“Let’s say we’re shooting something with a big European director in Europe, and 90% of the cast is European and non-SAG-AFTRA, but you have two key roles played by U.S. talent. Will the movie stop and not get done or will those roles be substituted with European non-SAG-AFTRA actors? I suspect what will happen is it will depend on the talent. If the reception is, ‘This is going to be a quick strike,’ directors will say, ‘Let’s wait.’ But if it looks like a long one, it could mean those roles will be changed.”

Hopefully, if the strike ends relatively quickly, filming won’t be too impacted, but no doubt, the series’ producers had been planning on the strike, and taking advantage of being able to use a cast of actors from multiple acting unions to reduce disruption.

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

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