Kevin Spacey will no longer star in the upcoming film 1242: Gateway to the West, according to Variety. The upcoming film, which was on sale at Cannes this year, concerns the story of a spiritual man played by Spacey confronting Genghis Khan’s military commander and grandson Batu Khan to stop him from entering Europe. Negotiations with a new lead are under way, the film’s producer, Bill Chamberlain, told Variety.
The exit comes after Spacey pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault against three men and an additional count of “causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent†in the U.K. on July 12. Trial will commence on June 6, 2023. Spacey was first publicly accused of misconduct in 2017, by actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged that Kevin Spacey behaved inappropriately with him in 1986, when Rapp was 14. In addition to his U.K. charges, Spacey has a court date in New York set for October 4, where he will face the charges brought by Rapp.