‘Rust’ will be completed and still star Alec Baldwin as he faces involuntary manslaughter charges in death of crew member, attorney says

Alec Baldwin, who is set to face involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of a crew member during a “Rust” film rehearsal, will continue starring as the lead role, a production attorney told on Friday.

As the film proceeds, operations will include “on-set safety supervisors and union crew members and will bar any use of working weapons or any ammunition,” said Melina Spadone, attorney for Rust Movie Productions.

Spadone’s remarks come a day after prosecutors announced plans to charge Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, in the on-set shooting death of Halyna Hutchins in October 2021 at a ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Hutchins, the film’s director of photography, was struck and killed by a live round of ammunition Baldwin fired from a prop gun, and director Joel Souza was wounded in the right shoulder. Souza will continue directing the film as production moves forward, Spadone said.

Baldwin, who is also a producer of the film, did not answer reporters’ requests for comment on the charges while walking into his Manhattan home on Friday. A source close to Baldwin told CNN on Friday that he plans to complete the movie.

Despite the fatal shooting being ruled an accident by the New Mexico chief medical investigator, prosecutors believe a crime was committed.

“Just because it’s an accident doesn’t mean that it’s not criminal,” First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said Thursday as she explained the charging decision. “Our involuntary manslaughter statute covers unintentional killings.”

Carmack-Altwies said she will charge Baldwin and the film’s armorer with involuntary manslaughter, accusing them of failing to perform safety procedures that could have prevented the accident.

Formal charges are expected to be filed by month’s end, Carmack

“Every person that handles a gun has a duty to make sure that if they’re going to handle that gun, point it at someone and pull the trigger, that it is not going to fire a projectile and kill someone,” Carmack-Altwies said.

Still, prosecutors face immense challenges in attempting to try a case centering around a prominent Hollywood figure in addition to the legal thresholds they must prove to obtain a conviction.