‘The Trial of Alec Baldwin’ Trailer Pulls Back the Curtain on the Actor’s Life After the ‘Rust’ Tragedy

Few on-set accidents in recent Hollywood history have generated as much sustained media attention as the 2021 shooting on the set of ‘Rust,’ a tragedy that turned a Western film production into a years-long legal and cultural firestorm. Alec Baldwin has spent the years since navigating criminal charges, public scrutiny, and a trial that threatened to upend his career entirely.

That saga is now the subject of a new documentary from Oscar-nominated director Rory Kennedy, best known for ‘Last Days in Vietnam.’ Kennedy began filming with Baldwin in 2023 and stayed close to him through years of legal proceedings, gaining unusually intimate access to the actor’s life during one of the most difficult stretches of his career.

A trailer for the film, titled ‘The Trial of Alec Baldwin,’ has now been released, offering the clearest look yet at how deeply personal the project gets. In the footage, Baldwin reflects candidly on the ordeal, at one point asking how the hell he ended up in this vortex as he grapples with the fallout from the shooting.

According to the film’s official logline, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on the ‘Rust’ set on October 21, 2021, by a prop gun held by Baldwin during filming. The synopsis notes that in the immediate aftermath, virtually no one doubted the shooting was accidental, describing it as a deeply traumatizing experience for everyone involved.

The documentary then traces how questions of responsibility, guilt, and justice began circulating in the media, driven in large part by Baldwin’s fame and public reputation. The logline describes Baldwin as talented and adored, yet also flawed and prone to explosions of anger, painting him as someone who became a lightning rod for online criticism and aggressive paparazzi attention throughout the ordeal.

Kennedy continued filming through Baldwin’s formal indictment and the trial of ‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was ultimately convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting. The film also follows Baldwin’s own prosecution on an involuntary manslaughter charge, which was dismissed with prejudice in July 2024 after a judge found that prosecutors had withheld evidence from his defense team, a ruling that bars the case from ever being retried.

The trailer also touches on some of the trial’s more unusual moments, including prosecutor Kari Morrissey taking the stand during her own case. Baldwin has maintained throughout the process that he never pulled the trigger on the weapon.

Kennedy has spoken about her motivation for taking on the project, explaining that questions of accountability and justice in Baldwin’s case couldn’t be separated from the broader forces of celebrity and media scrutiny surrounding him. She’s described the film as an attempt to explore what justice actually looks like in a case this complicated and public.

The documentary had its world premiere at the DOC NYC film festival in November 2025 before landing distribution through Abramorama. Mark Bailey and Julia Marchesi produced the film alongside Kennedy, with a lengthy list of executive producers also attached to the project.

‘The Trial of Alec Baldwin’ is set for a limited theatrical release beginning October 1, with a wider expansion following on October 16. Given how much public debate the ‘Rust’ case has generated over the years, the film seems poised to reignite plenty of conversation once it hits theaters.

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