Alec Baldwin calls ‘Rust’ tragedy ‘me at my worst’ in emotional documentary trailer
Rory Kennedy began filming Baldwin in 2023 and followed him through his highly publicised legal battle
Alec Baldwin is confronting one of the most painful periods of his life in the trailer for The Trial of Alec Baldwin, a new documentary examining the fatal Rust shooting, the actor’s criminal case and the personal fallout that followed.
Directed by Rory Kennedy, the documentary features previously unseen footage and intimate moments from Baldwin’s life as he dealt with the aftermath of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ death. In the trailer, Baldwin recalls the moment he learned Hutchins had died after a gun he was holding discharged on the New Mexico set of Rust in October 2021.
“When they told me she died, I was in shock,” Baldwin says in the trailer. “I was in disbelief.”
The documentary follows Baldwin beyond the shooting itself, examining the intense public attention and criminal proceedings that came afterwards. Kennedy began filming in 2023 and was given extensive access to Baldwin and his family, including during the period surrounding his manslaughter trial.
Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins’ death. His first set of charges was dropped in 2023, but prosecutors later brought the case again, leading to a new indictment and a trial in New Mexico in July 2024.
The trial lasted only a few days before Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice. The decision came after Baldwin’s defence team raised concerns about ammunition that had been handed to law enforcement but had not been disclosed to them. The judge ruled that the prosecution’s failure to provide the evidence had been intentional and that the case could not proceed fairly. Because the dismissal was with prejudice, Baldwin could not be retried on the same charges.
The trailer shows Baldwin looking back at the emotional consequences of the case as well as the enormous pressure surrounding the shooting. At one point, he recalls wanting to be acquitted simply so that he could leave the courtroom and have his life back.
“I want to be acquitted so I can walk out the door and everybody just leave me alone,” he says. “I never dreamed of my life that this would come down to this.”
Another particularly emotional moment has Baldwin discussing Hutchins’ death and the fact that nothing could undo what happened. He says he would have done anything possible to bring her back, underscoring the grief that remains at the centre of the story.
Kennedy has also stressed the difficult perspective involved in making the documentary. Hutchins remains the central victim of the fatal shooting, while the film also explores Baldwin’s experience and the consequences he faced afterwards. Kennedy has said she wanted the documentary to acknowledge the different forms of suffering surrounding the tragedy rather than reduce the story to a single perspective.
The film also looks at the effect the case had on Baldwin’s career and family life. In an April 2026 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Baldwin said the shooting and subsequent trial had affected him financially, professionally and personally, while also affecting his wife, children and health.
The new documentary arrives after years of intense public scrutiny surrounding Rust. Hutchins was killed on October 21, 2021, while director Joel Souza was also injured in the incident. Baldwin has consistently maintained that he did not intentionally fire the weapon.
The trailer closes with Baldwin acknowledging that the documentary will show a deeply vulnerable side of him. “People who watch this will see so much of me at my worst,” he says.
The Trial of Alec Baldwin, directed by Rory Kennedy, is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on October 16.
