Move over, Fallout: FX’s next video game series nails the casting

The first details are emerging for Far Cry, the TV adaptation of Ubisoft’s best-selling video game franchise, with a piece of casting that’s sure to grab attention: Steve Buscemi is joining the cast. He’ll be starring alongside Rob McElhenney, known for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Lizzy Caplan, familiar from Mean Girls and Masters of Sex. The series is a production for FX, the channel behind Fargo and The Bear.

McElhenney, who also serves as a producer, is teaming up again with Noah Hawley, the brains behind the Fargo anthology series. Hawley and McElhenney plan to bring the video game’s trademark format to television: in the games, each entry has a different setting and cast, all built around dramatic, often absurd conflicts in an exotic locale. The TV series will mirror this structure—with each series promising new stories, characters and locations—rather than retelling any single game plot line verbatim.

• Steve Buscemi
• Rob McElhenney
• Lizzy Caplan

In a statement, Hawley said he was drawn to the project because its “anthology” approach is the perfect match for television:

"What I love about the Far Cry game franchise is it's an anthology. Each game is a variation of a theme, the same way each season of Fargo is a variation on a theme. To create a big action show that can change from year to year, while always exploring the nature of humanity through this complex and chaotic lens is a dream come true. I'm excited to partner with Rob and bring our shared irreverent, ambitious sensibility to the screen."

Whether the programme will adapt specific stories from the games—such as the cult leader saga of Far Cry 5—or go its own way with original tales is still under wraps. But with both McElhenney and Hawley involved, there’s plenty to suggest it won’t be a by-the-numbers video game spin-off.

The Far Cry series is still in its early stages, and no release date has been announced yet.