Kevin Spacey has formally exited his lead role in the forthcoming film 1242: Gateway to the West, ahead of his UK trial date scheduled for 6 June 2023.
The House of Cards actor was set to star in the historical drama, as a spiritual man who attempts to stop Genghis Khan’s invasion of Europe.
However, with Spacey’s ongoing UK trial – for which he pleaded not guilty to four charges of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent – the movie’s producer Bill Chamberlain told Variety that his role has been recast.
A new lead has yet to be revealed, but negotiations are currently underway.
Directed by Péter Soós, Gateway to the West is scheduled to begin two months of filming on 17 October.
It was originally being shopped out at the recent Cannes Film Festival by Australian sales agent Galloping Entertainment, but CEO Carlos Alperin told the outlet that after Spacey was charged in May, he was meeting with the movie’s producers to discuss its future.
Meanwhile, the 62-year-old actor is starring in the upcoming thriller Peter Five Eight, for which a trailer has already been released. The film’s producers stood by him, despite the charges against him.
The first public allegation made against Spacey was in 2017 by actor Anthony Rapp, who accused Spacey of abusing him at a party in 1986, when Rapp was 14.
In addition to Spacey’s UK trial next year – which is expected to last three to four weeks – a New York court date is set for 4 October, where he will face Rapps’s sex abuse suit.
The actor, who “flatly denies” Rapp’s accusations, previously asked a judge to dismiss the case.
