Ridley Scott’s latest series for Apple TV+ Sinking Spring is in deep water after its lead actor Michael Mando was fired after an on-set physical altercation. In August 2022, Apple announced that they would be producing a TV series adaptation of the book Dope Thief by Dennis Tafoya.
Sinking Springs is about two friends, Ray and Manny, who live in Philadelphia and pose as DEA agents to rob a seemingly small-time drug operation. It turns out that the small robbery is actually the biggest narcotics corridor on the Eastern seaboard. And they are willing to kill to get their drugs and money back.
Ridley Scott, known for famous films like Alien, Blade Runner, The Martian would be an executive producer on the show with Scott Free Productions.
Brian Tyree Henry would be the main lead of the show. Not long after, it was announced that Michael Mando, known for Better Call Saul as Nacho Varga, and the video game Far Cry 3 as Vaas Montenegro, would be joining the cast. For MCU fans, he’s Mac Gargan, who briefly appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Filming for Apple’s new series just started this February in Philadelphia.
Ridley Scott’s Sinking Springs Recast Lead Actor
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The Hollywood Reporter said that Michael Mando was fired after an on-set incident. Deadline reports that the actor had a “physical altercation” with a cast member. There are no details on who Mando had a fight with. But the producers of the show tried to calm the situation. Unfortunately, Mando was eventually let go.
The actor will be replaced by Wagner Moura, known for his portrayal of Pablo Escobar in the Netflix series Narcos. He is recently seen in Apple’s Shining Girls as Dan Velasquez.
There are no details about the incident itself. Many wonders who Mando was fighting with and how bad the situation got. Because recasting is not an easy thing to do, especially since they are currently in mid-production; although this isn’t impossible, we’ve seen Ridley Scott handle a situation like this before.
The director has made major changes in All The Money In The World by replacing the role of Kevin Spacey. Spacey was cast as J. Paul Getty, and the movie was already in the can when allegations were made against the actor. Spacey was replaced by Christopher Plummer, who reshot all of Spacey’s scenes.
Netflix also went through an identical situation with Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead. Chris D’Elia had already shot his scenes after allegations were made about him. His character was cut and replaced with actress and comedian Tig Notaro. She shot the majority of her scenes on a green screen.
Ridley Scott Apple TV Series Series Forced To Recast Lead Role
Credit: AMC
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Replacing the lead actor is not an easy task. Michael Mando was playing second lead to Brian Tyree Henry. In other words, there are a lot of shots involved with his character. We don’t know how far the production is, but they just started this month. Replacing him with Wagner Moura will take some time to plan and produce.
This is nothing like All The Money In The World, where it only took a little more than a week to replace Kevin Spacey. Nor is it like Army of the Dead, where Tig Notaro barely had any physical contact with the other actors.
For sure, the production behind the scenes would be scrambling on how to redo the shoots. This is going to cost Apple. The delay of the project is inevitable, but Apple never really announced a release date, except it is scheduled for 2023. Would this incident push the project to 2024? It is possible, but we must wait for an official announcement from Apple and Scott Free Productions.
Ridley Scott is set to direct one episode of Sinking Springs. He is currently working on another Apple movie project Napoleon based on the French military commander and political leader.
What will the future of Michael Mando would be is the question. At the moment, he has no projects lined up after Sinking Springs.
What do you think of Michael Mando being fired from Sinking Springs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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