The Fall of the House of Usher is looking for a new leading man. Netflix’s latest horror miniseries from acclaimed creative Mike Flanagan has fired star, Frank Langella, following an investigation into sexual harassment claims. The longtime actor, now 84-years old, was reportedly accused earlier this week of acting inappropriately on set and making unwanted comments to a female co-star while the two were working. Langella was to play Roderick Usher, the towering patriarch of the titular Usher family, and had already filmed his part through half of the production. Filming will continue on the series with scenes not involving the Roderick Usher character, while production looks to recast the role. Any scenes previously filmed with Langella will be reshot.
The Fall of the House of Usher is also set to feature Carla Gugino, Mark Hamill, Mary McDonnell, and Carl Lumbly in major roles. Similar in tone to Flanagan’s well-received Haunting series, the show will take inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe‘s short story of the same name. Themes of madness, family, isolation and identity will be explored throughout eight episodes, half of which will be directed by Flanagan with the other half helmed by Michael Fimognari.
Hopefully, Usher will continue the Doctor Sleep director’s recent string of success on Netflix. Both The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor became instant horror classics for the streaming service in 2018 and 2020 respectively, with last year’s Midnight Mass also receiving critical praise. Next up is The Midnight Club, which has already completed filming and will release in 2022, before Usher likely drops sometime next year.
Source: Deadline
