‘Death on the Nile’ goes ahead despite Armie Hammer scandal

A new trailer of Disney’s ‘Death on the Nile’ dropped last evening, moving ahead with its release despite the Armie Hammer sex scandal still fresh in people’s minds.

Rather than cloak Hammer’s role in the Kenneth Branagh directorial, the film left port with the actor very much on board the trailer of the latest Agatha Christie whodunit.

Hammer, if most of you recall, was embroiled in controversy in January this year when women online started accusing him of abusive and manipulative behaviour. Details about his private life were also made public, which involved unverified messages discussing fantasies shared by the actor that included cannibalism. A few of his ex-girlfriends also said they had experienced strange behaviour with Hammer.

Los Angeles Police are also investigating Hammer after a woman, later identified as Effie, reported she was sexually assaulted by the actor.

The scandal resulted in Hammer being replaced in a slew of projects, including ‘The Billion Dollar Spy’ and the series ‘Gaslit’. However, Branagh’s ‘Death on the Nile’ had already wrapped up filming, while facing a delayed release on account of the pandemic.

The movie is now set to release on Valentine’s Day weekend in theatres with an all-star cast that includes Branagh himself as detective Hercule Poirot, along with Gal Gadot, Letitia Wright, Tom Bateman, Rose Leslie and Bollywood actor Ali Fazal.

It remains to be see whether Hammer’s role in the final cut of the film will be truncated. The movie put Poirot back at the helm of a new mystery when one of the passengers on the S.S. Karnak is found murdered.