The lead role of Roderick Usher in Mike Flanagan's upcoming Netflix series, The Fall of the House of Usher, will now be recast. Frank Langella, former star of Dracula, was originally cast in the series' leading role, but new events have resulted in his firing from the series, and the hunt for a new lead will begin.
The eight-episode Netflix series is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same title. The series also stars Marcy McDonnell, Carl Lumbly, Mark Hamill, Willa Fitzgerald, and Michael Trucco. Carla Gugino, Samantha Sloyan, Henry Thomas, T'Nia Miller, Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford, and Annabeth Gish will also star in the series. They have previously worked with The Fall of the House of Usher creator Flanagan on his previous Netflix series.
The decision to recast the lead role of Roderick Usher has come after Langella was fired from The Fall of the House of Usher following an investigation of on-set misconduct. Deadline confirmed the news first reported by TMZ, which found that Langella had made inappropriate remarks and gestures toward female coworkers. The results of the investigation have led The Fall of the House of Usher to make the decision to recast Langella's role as Roderick Usher. Langella was announced in late December as a member of the series' cast alongside Gugino, McDonnell, Lumbly, and Hamill.
Prior to the decision to recast the role, The Fall of the House of Usher was roughly halfway through the production process. Now, those scenes will be reshot after the role has been recast. Filming for The Fall of the House of Usher will continue as the hunt for a new lead begins. Scenes with the rest of the cast that do not contain Roderick Usher will continue to be filmed as expected.
The Fall of the House of Usher was created by Flanagan, who has already created several other horror projects for Netflix including The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass. The upcoming horror series is not the first literary adaptation for Flanagan. The Haunting of Hill House was adapted from the 1959 Shirley Jackson novel of the same title. Flanagan's second Netflix series, The Haunting of Bly Manor, was loosely adapted from the works of Henry James, particularly The Turning of the Screw. Flanagan's other upcoming Netflix series, The Midnight Club, will be an adaptation of Christopher Pike's 1994 novel of the same name.
Only time will tell how the hunt for a new lead will impact the expected release of The Fall of the House of Usher. While the other stars of the series will continue to shoot their scenes, they will have to revisit those that have already been shot with Langella. Given that the series will now have to undergo additional reshoots in light of Langella's absence, Netflix may choose to delay the anticipated release of the series.
The Fall of the House of Usher is currently in production.
Source: Deadline