Bringing an end to what has been a shocking and deeply troubling week, we’re learning tonight that Netflix has fired Kevin Spacey from House of Cards. Not only that, but they’ve also axed plans to release Gore, a film they were working on with the actor that was in post-production. In short, they’re severing all ties with him, which, given what’s going on, is perfectly understandable.
In a statement released earlier tonight, the company said the following:
“Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey. We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show.
We have also decided we will not be moving forward with the release of the film Gore, which was in post-production, starring and produced by Kevin Spacey.”
How Netflix plans to proceed with the show from here remains to be seen. Apparently, they were toying with the idea of killing off Spacey’s Frank Underwood, and with the actor now fired from House of Cards, it would seem that may be exactly what they do. Or, they could just write him out. Either way though, don’t expect to see the character show up in season 6.
Instead, we imagine the plot will be focused on Robin Wright’s Claire, and perhaps a few of the supporting players. Time will tell what direction they decide to head in story-wise, but it should be interesting to see how the writers handle the show without Frank, given how integral he was to it.
Even with Netflix now having ended their relationship with Spacey, we imagine that the scandal that’s engulfed the actor – and, by effect, House of Cards – will unfortunately continue to fester for some time, and until those guilty are brought to justice, we can only hope this torrent of allegations helps expose other sexual predators working within the industry.
Spacey, meanwhile, is said to be seeking “evaluation and treatment,” though should these claims hold true, we imagine there’s no coming back from this.
