Just when the world was finally celebrating the reopening of cinemas and Hollywood tentpoles lighting up the summer, Disney has thrown a monkey in the wrench.
After news broke that ‘Cruella’ and Marvel’s ‘Black Widow’ will simultaneously release in theatres and on the Disney+ platform on May 28 and July 9 respectively, fans now hear that the Kenneth Branagh-starrer ‘Death on the Nile’ has also floated away to 2022.
The film stars Armie Hammer who is currently under investigation for rape. The actor has been mired in a sex scandal which first erupted when an anonymous Instagram account leaked disturbing private messages that they alleged were sent by the actor. Others have come forth since, sharing stories of abuse, photos of bruising and cannibalism fantasies that Hammer subjected them with.
The actor’s former girlfriends, Courtney Vucekovich and Paige Lorenze, have also come out and spoken of similar disturbing behaviour by the actor. The most recent complaint was brought by a young woman named Effie, who claimed the actor raped her for more than four hours.
In light of the scandal, Hammer has also been dropped from several film projects, while he opted to drop out of the Ryan Reynolds and Jennifer Lopez production, ‘Shotgun Wedding’. Additionally, Hammer was fired by his agency WME.
Now Disney has postponed ‘Death on the Nile’ to February 11, 2022, with Deadline reporting that the studio is deciding how to proceed with the project in wake of Hammer’s scandal.
Meanwhile, here’s a look at the theatrical date changes Disney has announced:
‘Black Widow’ on July 9, 2021 (from May 7, 2021)
‘Free Guy’ on August 13, 2021 (from May 21, 2021)
‘Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ on September 3, 2021 (from July 9, 2021)
‘The King’s Man’ on December 22, 2021 (from August 20, 2021)
‘Deep Water’ on January 14, 2022 (from August 13, 2021)
‘Death on the Nile’ on February 11, 2022 (from September 17, 2021)
