Christopher Plummer replacing Kevin Spacey in 'All the Money in the World'

November 9, 2017 at 10:56

(CNN) - Actor Kevin Spacey, who is facing mounting allegations of sexual harassment and assault, will no longer appear in Ridley Scott's forthcoming drama, "All the Money in the World," two sources close to the film confirm to CNN.

The filmmakers have taken the rare move of planning to completely edit Spacey out of the film and replace him with another actor.

Christopher Plummer will take over Spacey's role in the film, which despite the last-minute change, is still set for release on December 22.

The decision, a source told CNN, was made by Scott and producers from Imperative Entertainment, with the full support of Sony Pictures.

Imperative Entertainment and Scott Free Productions produced the film for Sony and its TriStar Pictures banner.
The film is based on the 1973 abduction of John Paul Getty III. Spacey played Getty's billionaire grandfather in the movie, donning extensive prosthetic makeup for the role.

Charlie Plummer (no relation to Christopher Plummer), Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg also star.
The recast comes just one day after Sony and TriStar decided to pull the film from the AFI Festival's prestigious closing night spot.

In a statement provided Tuesday that confirmed the film's exit from AFI due to the allegations regarding Spacey, TriStar Pictures called "All the Money in the World" a "superb film" that was "more than worthy of its place of honor in the AFI Fest."

"There are over 800 other actors, writers, artists, craftspeople and crew who worked tirelessly and ethically on this film, some for years, including one of cinema's master directors," TriStar's statement added. "It would be a gross injustice to punish all of them for the wrongdoings of one supporting actor in the film."

The team behind "All the Money in the World" now faces several massive challenges, not the least of which is an incredible time crunch for a film just six weeks from its target release date. Plummer's new scenes must be filmed and then go through the post-production process and inserted into the completed film.
Marketing materials featuring Spacey must also be scrapped.

Spacey was first accused of sexual assault by actor Anthony Rapp, who told BuzzFeed about an alleged encounter with Spacey at a party in 1986, during which Spacey made a sexual advance toward the then 14-year-old Rapp.

Spacey issued a statement claiming he did not recall the incident but apologized for what he said would have been "inappropriate drunken behavior."

Last week, members of the "House of Cards" production staff further detailed allegations of misconduct by Spacey in a story by CNN.

Spacey is currently seeking unspecified treatment, according to a statement from his publicist, who has since parted ways with the actor.