Despite what the trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile wants you to think, Armie Hammer is in Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile. Back in November 2020, Disney indefinitely pulled the 20th Century Studios film from its release calendar due to the pandemic. Two months later, allegations surfaced surrounding one of the film’s stars, Armie Hammer, accusing him of non-consensually subjecting multiple women to violent sexual fantasies. One former partner told the Daily Mail that he was emotionally and physically violent. An alleged victim claimed in March 2021 that Hammer raped her in 2017, prompting an LAPD investigation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney considered reshooting Hammer’s scenes with a new actor or digitally replacing him, following the allegations. Instead, his role remains intact, but his presence in the trailer is dwindled down to a flash of a silhouette and one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it line.
Hammer plays a newlywed opposite Gal Gadot, who has brought famed detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) onboard a postnuptial river cruise. Gadot’s Linnet is fearful that something foul is going to happen, and her premonitions prove true when someone winds up dead. The suspect list is cloudy and full of uncertainty, much like the status of the film’s upcoming press tour.
Death on the Nile will be in theaters February 11.