Disney’s Far Cry series takes over Málaga’s old prison, with explosions set to rattle the neighbourhood for weeks

For decades this building held real prisoners behind real bars. Now Málaga’s old provincial prison has been taken over by Disney’s FX, with 350 crew, three-tone alarms and controlled explosions turning it into the set for a new series based on the Far Cry video games.

The blasts are staged, but the noise will be real

A controlled detonation kicked off rehearsals this week at the old prison, now in its third day as a film set while the production tests scenes ahead of the main shoot. Another test blast is planned for Thursday September 10 at around 5pm, with the biggest action sequences filmed between Saturday September 19 and Monday September 21. 

Before every detonation, a three-tone acoustic signal will sound to warn people nearby, and residents have also received letters through their doors setting out the full schedule of noisy filming days. Dense smoke will accompany the blasts, and drones have been authorised to fly over the site during both the test and the main filming days.

Steve Buscemi and Lizzy Caplan join the Far Cry adaptation

The series adapts Far Cry, Ubisoft’s long-running first-person shooter franchise that launched in 2004 and now runs to 16 games built around open-world combat. Rather than following one continuous story, the TV version uses an anthology format, introducing a different cast and setting each season, echoing how every Far Cry game drops players into a new conflict.

Rob Mac, known for creating and starring in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Mythic Quest, co-created the project with Noah Hawley, the writer behind Fargo and Legion, and stars in it himself. Steve Buscemi and Lizzy Caplan have since joined the cast. The series is being made for FX and Hulu in the United States, reaching audiences elsewhere, including Spain, through Disney+.

Streets closed and cranes moved in around Cruz de Humilladero

Calle Valderaduey, beside the old prison on Avenida José Ortega y Gasset, has been closed to traffic completely for the length of the shoot. Calle Fernández Fermina faces intermittent closures to allow two cranes to operate, while parking has been suspended nearby on Calle Virgen del Pilar. The restrictions run from 7am to 11pm daily and are due to lift by Friday September 25, with the production’s clean-up expected to finish by Saturday October 10.

About 350 technical and artistic crew have been working in the neighbourhood since Monday September 7, rehearsing action sequences inside the building. Málaga Film Office, the council’s own filming office under Málaga Procultura, is coordinating the shoot and says the production contributes to economic activity and to Málaga’s profile as a filming destination.

Not the old prison’s first time on screen

The building has stood empty since it closed as a working prison in 2009, having opened in 1933 and served as Málaga’s provincial jail for more than seven decades. It was declared a Lugar de Memoria Histórica (a site of historical memory) of Andalucía in 2014, and is currently being restored as part of the Distrito 6 cultural project.

Its cells and corridors have already featured on screen more than once, including in an episode of Black Mirror and Netflix’s Warrior Nun. Disney has used Málaga for location filming before too, most recently transforming streets in the historic centre for the period drama Rivals. For now, though, the cameras have moved to the old prison, and the neighbourhood has been told to expect more bangs before the month is out.