Unlike many other celebrities who have faced accusations of terrible acts, Armie Hammer was not replaced in the film Death on the Nile directed by Kenneth Branagh. After a year since the scandal broke out, the actor seems to have moved on from his acting career and is now reportedly working as a timeshare salesperson at a beautiful resort in the Cayman Islands. Although it may not be considered a typical job for a Hollywood star, Hammer appears to have found a new path for himself in an idyllic location.
Hammer faced allegations of s*xual assault from a number of women, including an ex-girlfriend, in March 2021. These accusations followed the publication of s*xual texts supposedly sent by Hammer to an anonymous woman in January, in which he described his cannibalistic fantasies and his preference for a BDSM practice called bloodplay. Notwithstanding his repeated denials of all wrongdoing, these allegations had a significant impact on Hammer’s career. His agency ceased to represent him and his personal publicist resigned from their position. Although Hammer either left or was removed from several projects, he remained part of the cast of Kenneth Branagh’s murder mystery film Death on the Nile, unlike other stars who have been accused of s*xual misconduct.
Have you heard about the recent scandal involving Armie Hammer? It all started in February of 2021 when he was named as the primary suspect in a rape case. The victim, known as Effie, claimed that she was sexually assaulted by Hammer back in 2017 while he was still married to Elizabeth Chambers. According to Effie, the assault lasted for four hours and involved physical harm in the context of their intimate relationship. This news has shocked many and raised questions about the behavior of public figures.
During a press conference with her lawyer Gloria Allred, the accuser claimed that Armie Hammer committed violent acts against her without her consent, leaving her fearing for her life. Hammer’s lawyer has stated that all interactions between Hammer and Effie, as well as other women, were consensual and agreed upon in advance. The LAPD investigated Effie’s police report, which concluded in December 2021, and the case was sent to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Despite dropping out of several projects, Hammer still appeared in “Death on the Nile,” which had wrapped two years before the allegations surfaced.
Branagh’s latest film, a follow-up to Murder on the Orient Express, faced several delays in its release due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for December 2019, the movie was postponed several times and eventually released in February 2022 after Armie Hammer’s sexual assault scandal was investigated by the LAPD. Unlike other men facing misconduct allegations, Hammer remained in the film as Simon Doyle, who is newly married to Linnet Ridgeway-Doyle played by Gal Gadot. In contrast, Kevin Spacey was cut from All The Money in the World in 2017 and replaced by Christopher Plummer at a cost of $10 million, while Chris D’Elia was substituted by Tig Notaro in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead using green screen and CGI after facing accusations in 2020.
The response of filmmakers to public scandals has shown that it is possible to handle problematic stars fairly while still believing survivors. This was exemplified by producers Ridley Scott and Deborah Snyder, who chose not to side with individuals accused of misconduct and instead believe the survivors. As a result, Armie Hammer was dropped from other film projects, and it was expected that Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile would follow suit. However, reshooting Hammer’s scenes in the movie was deemed too complicated and expensive, given the ensemble cast and flamboyant choreography involved. Additionally, the two-year gap between wrapping and release made reshooting even more challenging. While CGI could have been used to replace Hammer, the results might not have been satisfactory. Despite this, Hammer’s character is slightly obscured in the marketing material and does not appear in promotional images on Instagram. Moreover, being one of the villains in the film, his character receives a fictional reckoning that some viewers may find satisfying.