Alec Baldwin will continue to star in the relaunched production of “Rust,” according to the film’s attorney.
Despite his prior assertions that he did not fire the bullet, the 64-year-old actor will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins.
Matt Hutchins, who shared his 10-year-old son Andros with the late cinematographer, will continue to serve as the film’s executive producer, a position he assumed as part of the October settlement of a wrongful death case for an unknown amount.
Director Joel Souza will also return to “Rust” after being injured during filming.
Rust Movie Productions attorney Melina Spadone stated in a statement, “The film is still on track to be completed.”
Hutchins was killed on the set outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on October 21, 2021, when Baldwin’s pretend gun fired a live shell that struck her in the chest. She was 42 years old.
Since then, the actor’s attorney has referred to the accusation against the “30 Rock” actor as “a heinous miscarriage of justice.”
Mary Carmack-Altwies, district attorney of Santa Fe, announced on January 19 that she intends to charge both Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, with two charges of involuntary murder.
Gutierrez-Reed, who managed the guns on set, has denied culpability for the incident on multiple occasions. She was once described as “a bit sloppy with firearms.”
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be charged “in the alternative,” which means that the jury will decide which of the two accusations — involuntary manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter during the commission of a lawful act — they are guilty of.
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed would face a mandatory five-year sentence if convicted of the second charge, which includes a firearm enhancement. The first offense carries a potential penalty of 18 months.
In January 2022, Gutierrez-Reed filed a lawsuit against the company that supplied the ammunition, alleging that it sold a mixture of blanks and live shots.
In November, Baldwin filed lawsuits against a number of the film’s crew members. Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-attorneys Reed’s have maintained their clients’ innocence and vowed to fight the charges of involuntary manslaughter.
»Despite being charged, Alec Baldwin will continue to play the starring role in ‘Rust.’«