The Big Picture
- Rust releases the first images showcasing sweeping vistas and epic scope in Halyna Hutchins’ final work.
- Alec Baldwin stars as aging outlaw Harlan Rust in the Western film, set to save his grandson from death row.
- Production of Rust faced tragedy and controversy, with an accidental on-set shooting and ongoing criminal investigation.
Rust, the troubled production in which director of photography Halyna Hutchins was killed in an accidental on-set shooting, has released its first images. Hutchins’ final work is in evidence in the stills from the upcoming Western film. Deadline has revealed a first look at the film, in the form of five sepia-tinted stills that display the film’s sweeping vistas and epic scope. Two of the stills were shot by Hutchins before her death; the others are by Bianca Cline, who stepped into Hutchins’ role when the film resumed production after the accident.
The film will star Alec Baldwin as aging outlaw Harlan Rust, who emerges from retirement to save his thirteen-year-old grandson, Lucas Hollister (Patrick Scott McDermott), when he’s sentenced to hang for murder. The film will also star Travis Fimmel (Raised By Wolves), Frances Fisher (Unforgiven), Jake Busey (Stranger Things), Josh Hopkins (Cougar Town), and Devon Werkheiser (Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide). Rust is currently in post-production, and has not yet set a release date.
What Happened on the Set of ‘Rust’?
What truly happened on the set of Rust on October 21, 2021, and who is at fault for it, has yet to be determined. What is clear is that Baldwin (who is also a producer on the film) was holding a prop gun when it went off, firing a live round that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. The production had been troubled for some time; hours before the fatal shooting, crew members staged a walkout, protesting unsafe conditions on the set. Following the shooting, production was immediately halted, but resumed eighteen months later after a settlement with Hutchins’ family; as part of that settlement, Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, was brought aboard the production as an executive producer.
Despite the resolution of the civil case, however, the criminal justice system has continued to investigate the incident. First assistant director David Halls pled guilty to the negligent use of a deadly weapon, and Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer (the crew member responsible for handling and securing the production’s weapons) were both charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023. Charges against Baldwin were dropped shortly afterward, but Gutierrez-Reed is set to stand trial next month.
Rust is directed and written by Souza (Crown Vic). It is produced by Baldwin, Matt DelPiano, Ryan Donnell Smith, Anjul Nigam, Ryan Winterstern, Nathan Klingher, and Grant Hill; the latter, a frequent collaborator with Terrence Malick and the Wachowskis, came on board the project after Hutchins’ death.
Rust has not yet set a release date, see the new images above. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
