Kevin Spacey Returns to Hollywood in Historical Drama ‘1242 – Gateway to the West’

Five years (and multiple bizarre holiday videos) after Kevin Spacey was cut out of Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World,” the “American Beauty” actor is making his return to Hollywood.

The Oscar winner will star in upcoming UK/Hungarian/Mongolian co-production “1242 – Gateway to the West,” which reportedly marks his largest feature to date since the 2017 accusations. Eric Roberts, Christopher Lambert, Terence Stamp, and newcomers Jeremy Neumark-Jones and Genevieve Florence also star.

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“1242” tells the story of Genghis Khan’s military commander grandson Batu Khan, who was elected commander in chief of the western part of the Mongol empire. Per an official synopsis, in 1242, Khan is confronted by a deeply spiritual man named Cesareani (Spacey) and a castle in Hungary that halts his invasion of Europe and ultimately causes his downfall.

Hungarian director Peter Soos helms the film with a script by Aron Horvath and Joan Lane. Principal photography will begin in October 2022 in Hungary and Mongolia on the shoot.

Spacey was formerly accused by more than a dozen men — including Broadway veteran Anthony Rapp — of sexual assault. In 2018, Spacey was charged with indecent assault involving an alleged 2016 incident with a teenager; the charges were later dropped after Spacey pled not guilty.

Spacey was last seen on film in 2018’s “Billionaire Boys Club,” however he reportedly played a small role in Franco Nero’s upcoming “The Man Who Drew God,” as announced last year. The film is currently in post-production according to IMDb. Nero’s real-life wife, screen legend Vanessa Redgrave, was originally announced as starring in the film but instead issued a statement upon Spacey’s casting backlash.

“Vanessa Redgrave’s name is being included in recent stories relating to the casting of the upcoming film ‘The Man Who Drew God,'” the statement read. “While there have been discussions about the possibility of her joining the cast, she will not appear in the film.” Redgrave reportedly has a cameo. Nero is playing the lead.

Paul Schrader made headlines for supporting Spacey’s comeback at the time, writing on Facebook, “About time. If he’s guilty of a crime, incarcerate him. If not, let him act. Many great artists have been bad people.”

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