Kevin Spacey will no longer star in the historical drama “1242: Gateway to the West” which was being shopped in Cannes back in May.
The film follows a holy man (Spacey) in a Hungarian castle that serves as the last hope to stop Genghis Khan’s armies from invading Europe.
Producer Bill Chamberlain tells Variety the project has now replaced Spacey as its lead and negotiations are currently underway with a new lead who will be revealed in due course.
Peter Soos will direct the project which has a budget in the $10-25 million range and will begin a two-month shoot on October 17th. Eric Roberts and Christopher Lambert will co-star.
The former “House of Cards” star was charged in the U.K. with four counts of sexual assault and one count of “causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.”
Spacey has pleaded not guilty to all five counts in London on Thursday and will stand trial in the U.K. in June next year.
