Filmmakers are considering other locations as the project picks back up in 2023 following Halyna Hutchins' death.
Rust will resume production in a new location next year, leaving behind the original New Mexico set in the wake of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' death. As previously reported by ET, Alec Baldwin's Western film is expected to begin filming again in January 2023, with "all the original principal players on board" and a new executive producer -- the late Hutchins' widow, Matthew Hutchins.
"The production of Rust will not return to New Mexico," Melina Spadone, Attorney for Rust Movie Productions LLC, tells ET in a statement. "The production is considering other locations, including California, but no decisions have been made."
Moving forward, Rust production will have a safety officer on set. The resumption, like the original production, will continue to be filmed under agreements with industry labor unions.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Baldwin had reached a settlement with the Hutchins estate in the fatal on-set shooting -- which killed Halyna and injured director Joel Souza in October 2021. While Baldwin was holding the gun at the time of the shooting, he's consistently maintained that he never pulled the trigger.
In announcing the settlement, Baldwin's lawyer, Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel, said in a statement to ET: "Throughout this difficult process, everyone has maintained the specific desire to do what is best for Halyna’s son. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the resolution of this tragic and painful situation."
However, a homicide investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office remains ongoing. No charges have yet been filed.
A spokesperson for the Office of the First Judicial District Attorney for the state of New Mexico released a statement at the time of the settlement, saying that it would have no impact on its investigation.
"The proposed settlement announced today in Matthew Hutchins’ wrongful death case against Rust movie producers, including Alec Baldwin, in the death of Halyna Hutchins will have no impact on District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis’ ongoing investigation or her ultimate decision whether to file criminal charges in the case," the statement read. "While civil suits are settled privately and often involve financial awards, criminal cases deal only in facts. If the facts and evidence warrant criminal charges under New Mexico law then charges will be brought. No one is above the law."
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