FX and Ubisoft Confirm “Whole New Setting, New Cast” Approach — With Thailand Emerging as a Prime Contender
FX’s Far Cry adaptation is officially embracing the franchise’s most defining trait: reinvention. The forthcoming live-action series, co-created by Fargo and Alien: Earth showrunner Noah Hawley and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob “Rob Mac” McElhenney, will have each season charting its own path through a different wilderness.
It’s a natural extension of a property that has never returned to the same location twice, and Hawley himself called out that DNA in announcing the series. “What I love about the Far Cry game franchise is it’s an anthology,” he said, drawing a line from the games’ theme-and-tone variations to his own work on Fargo.
What Locations Are On The Table?
That mandate rules out the deep bench of existing Far Cry settings — meaning viewers won’t see the Rook Islands, Kyrat, Montana, Yara, or any of the franchise’s past haunts. Ubisoft’s messaging makes clear the show isn’t mining old maps but rather charting fresh territory that still delivers the series’ trademark clash of beauty and brutality.
While the producers haven’t confirmed where Season 1 will land, industry observers are already watching one region closely: Southeast Asia. Hawley’s most recent project, Alien: Earth, spent significant time filming in Thailand, a country that offers stable production infrastructure, dense jungle terrain, and a broad visual palette that fits neatly within Far Cry’s tradition of paradise-turned-powderkeg storytelling. And crucially, despite Far Cry 3 opening briefly in Bangkok, the franchise has never actually set a full narrative inside Thailand or a Thai-inspired nation — keeping the creative field wide open.
A fictionalized Thailand-adjacent country could offer everything the series thrives on: volatile political tensions, sprawling jungle ecosystems, contested borders, and a collision of tourism, corruption, militias, and myth. It’s a setting that feels both cinematic and new, with room for the heightened escalation Ubisoft is teasing.
Other Uncharted Options
Thailand isn’t the only plausible contender. A season set in the mountainous Balkans, a volatile fictional state in northern Mexico, or an isolated island chain inspired by Papua New Guinea would all qualify as brand-new territory for the franchise. Far Cry has long thrived on remote, socially combustible environments, and FX’s prestige-TV ambitions give the series latitude to explore geopolitical corners the games haven’t touched.
No matter the location, expect each season to introduce a new cast reflecting the terrain. Mac is set to star and executive produce, but his role may shift anthology-style from season to season — a tactic Hawley has used repeatedly. Local actors from the region of each season’s setting are expected to play central roles, paired with a recognizable marquee name and one or two wildcard character actors to round out the chaos.
A Reset Button With Bite
With Ubisoft calling Far Cry one of its “most iconic video game worlds,” FX’s series looks poised to treat the franchise as a narrative engine rather than a single storyline. New place, new people, new problem. It’s the perfect setup for kooky mayhem mixed with a little revolutionary spirit.
And if we know anything about Rob Mac, it’s that he’s the perfect amount of crazy to play season 1’s manic dictator (something like Pagan Min). But then again, if Thailand really is in the mix, Season 1 could deliver Mac as a Rambo-style badass, crawling through a lush, dangerous, and wholly original chapter in the Far Cry mythology. Either way, with Hawley at the helm, it’ll certainly be worth watching.