J.J. Abrams, Disney shooting in, around Albuquerque

May 4—J.J. Abrams, the director behind 2000s television mainstays Alias and Lost and more recently the movie, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, has a new television series called Duster in production in New Mexico.

Also, Walt Disney Pictures will film through May in and around Albuquerque on a Latino-centric reimagining of the 2014 film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Duster reunites Abrams with Josh Holloway from Lost and Greg Grunberg from Alias and an earlier Abrams creation Felicity. Rachel Hilson, Keith David and Sydney Elisabeth also star. It is being filmed in Albuquerque, Moriarty, Belen, Gallup, Sandia Pueblo and Laguna Pueblo, according to the New Mexico Film Office.

Duster is employing more than 4,000 New Mexicans, including 350 crew members and 50 principal actors, the film office reported.

Set in 1972, Duster follows the first Black female FBI agent seeking to take down a crime syndicate in the Southwest. The eight-episode series will appear on HBO Max. The Max Original/Warner Bros. series is produced by Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and LaToya Morgan's TinkerToy Productions. Abrams and Morgan wrote the first two episodes, which are being directed by Steph Green.

Also in New Mexico, Disney's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day stars Eva Longoria, also an executive producer, and Cheech Marin, who in late April replaced original cast member George Lopez. Deadline reports the film will appear on Disney+.

The film follows 11-year-old Alexander (Thom Nemer) and his family on an epic road trip.

Alexander filmed April 26-28 in Socorro.

The film is directed by Marvin Lemus with screenplay by Matt Lopez.