Will we be able to watch Rust without thinking of Halyna Hutchins?

More than three years after the death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, we are finally nearing the moment we weren’t sure would ever happen: the release of the western, whose production was halted and haunted by the accidental shooting death of Hutchins. And while director Joel Souza does hope that Rust serves as a tribute to Hutchins’ work and legacy, he doesn’t want viewers constantly distracted by the death.

Souza partook in a post-screening Q&A for Rust, where one attendee asked which scenes Halyna Hutchins filmed versus those from eventual replacement cinematographer Bianca Cline. To this, Souza replied, “That’s a terrible question. Everything we were doing, she already did. This is Halyna’s film, and I hope that people watch it that way and not try to decipher who shot what.”

As for specifics on the work of Hutchins while filming Rust, Souza added, “There are some scenes that Halyna did in their entirety, and some where we maybe finished only half. When we tried to complete those, sometimes we didn’t have the actor. Sometimes it amounted to digital head replacement…Sometimes silhouettes, sometimes green screens. Sometimes building a matching set.”

Notably, Alec Baldwin – who had his involuntary manslaughter charge against him dismissed – did not attend the premiere of Rust. But that doesn’t mean his presence wasn’t felt; after all, how could it not? Baldwin was the top name in the spotlight over Hutchins’ death, which resulted from a discharged gun that had not been properly checked. Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed would end up being found guilty of that charge. Even with those charges made or dropped, it doesn’t seem like things will entirely clear up just yet, unfortunately continuing to hang over the movie.

Filming on Rust resumed in the spring of 2023. While there is no official release date set and we don’t know how long a theatrical run would be, its world premiere could set the tone for how the film will be handled in that regard.

Are you looking forward to seeing Rust? Do you think people can watch the movie without Hutchins’ death hanging over it? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.