The Fall of the House of Usher was announced back in 2021 as the next Netflix horror adaptation from Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass creator Michael Flanagan, but star Frank Langella has reportedly been fired from the upcoming series. The move to remove the actor from the show came following an investigation into allegations of misconduct on set.
An investigation began into Frank Langella – also known for The Trial of the Chicago 7, Kidding, and Frost/Nixon (for which he received an Academy Award nomination) – after allegations of misconduct during production of The Fall of the House of Usher, according to Deadline. Langella had been cast to play Roderick Usher for the limited series, which is reportedly around halfway through production up in British Columbia, Canada. Langella was the first actor announced for the upcoming Netflix show, and filming began back in late January.
The Edgar Allan Poe adaptation will recast the role and reshoot scenes that have already been filmed with Langella, which could be a pretty mighty endeavor, if the project is halfway through the season. The actor was not on the schedule to work this week, and production will not need to stop because of the firing. Filming will continue with the rest of the cast for scenes not requiring the Roderick character. The cast includes some familiar faces for fans of Mike Flanagan's Haunting of Hill House, Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass.
The allegations against Frank Langella became public earlier in the week, with reports from TMZ. The outlet reported a source close to The Fall of the House of Usher production claiming that the actor made a sexual joke deemed inappropriate. It was also alleged that he touched the leg of a female costar and then joked about it during a performance, although it may have been during a rehearsal.
When the initial reports first broke, a Netflix spokesperson declined to comment. At the time of writing, neither Netflix nor executive producer Mike Flanagan have released statements on the news of Langella's firing or how the show will continue production.
It's not hard to imagine how the show will manage to continue filming without Langella, even though he was billed as the star. The show boasts a massive ensemble cast, reportedly including familiar faces from previous Mike Flanagan productions. Viewers can expect to see Carla Gugino, Rahul Kohli, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, T'Nia Miller, Zach Gilford, and Annabeth Gish as alums from Haunting of Hill House, Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass. None other than Star Wars legend Mark Hamill will also appear, among others.
Only time will tell who Mike Flanagan and Co. find to replace Frank Langella, and whether or not the firing and recasting sets back the production timeline significantly. For now, any who are excited about The Fall of the House of Usher can always check out (or revisit) Flanagan's other spooky series with a Netflix subscription. The new show will be different from those of his that came before, but the previous three are definitely worth the time.
