Disney Bought Time for ‘Death on the Nile,’ But Armie Hammer Iceberg Is Ahead
https://t.co/1Y6ok66V8N- Variety (@Variety)
March 30, 2021 Variety addresses the recent decision by Disney studios to push the release of Death on the Nile, which stars *rmie H*mmer in a significant role, back to 2022. H*mmer is currently under investigation by the LAPD for sexual assault allegations.
To sum up:
- The film is currently slated for release in theaters in Feb 2022, but a source close to the production says they won't be surprised if Disney decides to scrap a theatrical release and dump it on Hulu without fanfare.
- Sources suspect Disney is just plating a waiting game to see how the allegations play out :/ But they also don't want to shelve the movie since so many other people worked on it.
- H*mmer's role is significant enough that he cannot be cut and the film cannot be edited to remove most of his scenes.
- The cast is so big that reshoots are impossible.
- There isn't talk of CGI'ing his face or anything. Unfortunately.
- In a hilarious twist, if Disney hadn't called director Kenneth Branagh back for reshoots of Artemis Fowl, this film would have been finished and released before the news about H*mmer hit.
- It is speculated that his role in the other film he has completed, Taiki Waititi's Next Goal Wins, is a glorified cameo and can be cut.
Disney has declined to comment. They ended up with this film in their 20th Century Fox acquisition and I'm sure they wish they hadn't.
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