Proving once again that there are rarely lasting consequences for problematic men, Kevin Spacey has landed his first role since his career was, apparently, only briefly-derailed following the flurry of sexual misconduct allegations that began to surface in 2017. Congrats, we guess?
According to Deadline, Spacey has been confirmed to star in the historical drama 1242 – Gateway to the West, alongside Eric Roberts, Christopher Lambert, and Terence Stamp, as well as newcomers Jeremy Neumark-Jones and Genevieve Florence. Filming is set to begin in Hungary and Mongolia later this year in October, and the film will be peddled at Cannes.
“The film tells the story of Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu Khan, who was elected commander in chief of the western part of the Mongol empire. A skilled military commander, he won battles from China to Persia and was given responsibility for the invasion of Europe but in 1242 Khan is confronted by a deeply spiritual man and a castle in Hungary that halts his invasion of Europe and ultimately causes his downfall.”
Spacey’s woes first began in October of 2017, when actor Anthony Rapp alleged that the actor made a sexual advance toward him while intoxicated in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. From there, over a dozen others likewise came forward with similar accounts of alleged misconduct and abuse, including Heather Unruh, a Boston anchorwoman who claimed that Spacey had sexually assaulted her son; Harry Dreyfuss, the son of Richard Dreyfuss; and eight people who worked on his Netflix series House of Cards.
In September 2020, Rapp sued Spacey for sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, in a case that’s still ongoing and that the 62-year-old attempted to have dismissed last month. Spacey was also ordered to pay $31 million to the studio that produced House of Cards in 2020, for repeatedly breaching contractual obligations by violating its sexual harassment policy.
Well, perhaps a shiny new paycheck will help recoup some of those losses.
