Alec Baldwin's film Rust 'cut the church scene' in which fatal shooting occurred during rehearsals - as producers plan to release film after charges were dismissed

The eventual viewers of the tortured film Rust will never see the scene in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed when a prop gun held by Alec Baldwin fired after being loaded with live rounds.

An insider says that the scene was completely excised from the Western's script after the terrible tragedy, according to People.

The film's screenplay was reportedly rewritten extensively in the wake of the October 21, 2021, shooting, in which the film's director, Joel Souza, was also seriously injured after the bullet traveled through Hutchins' body and struck him in the shoulder.  

'They did cut the church scene that they were rehearsing for, and did some rewriting,' the source said, adding, 'It’s a beautiful film. It looks like a big studio movie.'

The news of the script shakeup comes after Baldwin, 66, who also served as a producer on the film and had a co-story credit, had involuntary manslaughter charges against him were dismissed permanently after prosecutors were accused of failing to turn over evidence to the defense team.

The church scene that was being rehearsed when a gun held by Alec Baldwin fired and killed cinematographer Halyna Huchins on the set of the Western Rust has been removed from the film, an insider told People on Tuesday; Baldwin seen in a still from Rust

The news comes just days after involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin were dismissed with prejudice. He's seen sobbing after the case was ended on July 12 in Santa Fe, New Mexico

The on-set shooting occurred during a rehearsal when the main cameras on set were not running.

At the time, Hutchins and Souza were determining camera blocking for the church scene that would be filmed, while Baldwin was practicing with a prop revolver that he says he had been told had no live rounds, as is standard practice on film sets. 

In addition to saying he had no knowledge that live bullets had been loaded into the revolver, the actor has claimed that he did not pull the trigger before the gun fired.

Baldwin's case was shockingly dismissed with prejudice by the judge — meaning he cannot be charged again for that crime in the future — after defense attorneys learned that bullets submitted to police that a witness said could be related to the case were not included with the rest of the Rust shooting evidence.

Instead, a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s officer filed the bullets under a different case file, which effectively prevented the defense from ever seeing them.

Adding to the seriousness of the matter, the prosecutor admitted under oath after taking the stand that she had authorized the filing.

Kari Morrissey — a private defense attorney who was appointed to try the case — took the unusual step of being sworn in and taking the witness stand, where she admitted that the bullets had not even been thoroughly examined, as she had only looked at photos of them before determining that they were not related to the case.

But Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer examined the bullets in court after there existence was revealed, and she determined that at least some of them appeared to be similar enough to the bullets used on the Rust set to have warranted being included in evidence.

The defense team accused the prosecution of trying to hide evidence, with Morrissey strongly denied, though the explanation for why the bullets weren't included remained fuzzy.

The defense team had attempted to cast blame away from Baldwin and toward who had supplied the bullets and loaded the gun. It's unclear how exactly if and how the new evidence could have aided the defense, but it may have helped their claims about where the deadly ammunition came from.

'If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching prejudice,' Sommer said of the prosecution as she dismissed the charges against Baldwin.

The actor erupted in tears before embracing and kissing his sobbing wife Hilaria Baldwin.

He previously had his charges downgraded, as the initial charges he was hit with did not exist at the time of the shooting. He was facing a potential maximum penalty of 18 months in prison under the less-severe charges if he had been convicted.

'They did cut the church scene that they were rehearsing for, and did some rewriting,' the source said, adding, 'It’s a beautiful film. It looks like a big studio movie'; Baldwin seen shortly after the shooting

Baldwin claims he did not pull the trigger, but the gun contained live rounds. It fired, hitting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the chest, killing her

Charges were dismissed after ammo that was said to be related to the film was filed under a different case number, effectively hiding it from the defense; Baldwin is seen on set covered in fake blood

Baldwin still faces potential civil trials, including a lawsuit filed by Hutchins' parents and sister in Ukraine, as well as one filed by her husband; Baldwin pictured on set

Rust producers still plan to release Rust, which later resumed filming.

Although Baldwin is now free of criminal charges, but he still faces multiple lawsuits, including one filed by Hutchins' parents and sister, who live in Ukraine.

Hutchins' husband had also filed a suit against Baldwin and other Rust producers, which was seemingly settled in 2022. But in March of this year, his attorneys claimed that the producers had not made all of their necessary payments, which should have been completed at that point. 

An attorney for Matthew Hutchins said that the suit was still ongoing in view of the alleged failure to pay in full, and he said he anticipated taking it to court, according to the New York Times.