Rust: Trailer for Alec Baldwin western released following death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set

Rust is set in Kansas in the 1880s and follows Lucas McCalister, played by Patrick Scott McDermott, who is broke out of jail by his estranged grandfather Harland Rust (Alec Baldwin) after he accidentally kills a rancher and is sentenced to be hanged. In the new trailer, Baldwin can been heard saying “heaven ain’t waiting on neither one of us”, while normal western tropes such as horseback riding and dramatic shoot-outs also feature.

Production on the film was thrown into chaos in October 2021 when Baldwin, 66, was pointing gun during a rehearsal for a scene on the Santa Fe set. The revolver went off during the rehearsal, striking Hutchins in the chest and wounding director Joel Souza in the shoulder.

Hutchins was flown to University of New Mexico Hospital by helicopter but was later pronounced dead. Production on the film resumed after the Hutchins family settled a lawsuit regarding her death in October 2022. The cinematographer’s husband, Matthew Hutchins, was added as an executive producer.

An involuntary manslaughter charge that had been brought against Baldwin following the fatal incident was dismissed by a judge in July 2024. The judge made the move based on the misconduct of police, who are said to have withheld ammunition evidence from the defence.

In December 2024, New Mexico prosecutors confirmed that they were not pursuing an appeal regarding this decision. Baldwin launched his own legal battle in January, filing a lawsuit for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations against those who pursued criminal charges against him.

The film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who loaded the gun for Baldwin before the fatal shot was fired, was jailed for 18 months after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The court heard that the 26-year-old had failed to ensure that the gun was loaded with only blanks before handing it to the actor, with prosecutor Kari T Morrissey saying: "This case is about constant, never-ending safety failures that resulted in the death of a human being.”

Baldwin recently caused controversy after a reality television show following himself and his family in the aftermath of the shooting and the lead up to his trial was announced. The Baldwins, which premiered last month, had been described as being “in extremely poor taste” by critics.

People Magazine reported that Rust is set to be released in cinemas and on streaming on May 2 in the US. A UK release date has not yet been confirmed.