Jared Leto has reportedly lost out on a role in Barry Levinson’s political thriller Assassination as the sexual misconduct allegations against him continue to mount.
Why Jared Leto Lost the Assassination Role
Multiple sources tell Page Six that the Dallas Buyers Club star was in advanced talks to join the JFK-conspiracy drama, which stars Jessica Chastain, Al Pacino, Bryan Cranston and Brendan Fraser. One source described the casting as “seeming like a done deal” before talks fell apart, and Leto was reportedly very interested in the part. Sources say production executives and Levinson were aware of the allegations against Leto and discussed them internally before conversations with the actor began. Leto is still listed as a cast member on the film’s IMDb page, but no replacement has been announced, and Assassination does not yet have a release date. The film follows journalist Dorothy Kilgallen’s investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and her own mysterious 1965 death.
Jared Leto’s Lunik Heist Is Also in Trouble
The casting loss isn’t the only project affected. NBC News reports that Lunik Heist, the Soviet spacecraft heist film Leto is attached to at Disney’s Searchlight Pictures, has also stalled, according to a source with knowledge of the production — even though it remains listed as in preproduction on IMDb.
The Allegations Against Jared Leto, Explained
The BBC released a documentary on July 29 titled Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, in which ten women describe encounters with the actor between 2002 and 2016. Four of the women accuse Leto of conduct they allege amounted to criminal sexual conduct. One woman alleges Leto assaulted her in a Las Vegas motel bathroom in 2002, when she was 17 and he was in his 30s. Another alleges he threatened her with sexual assault after a Thirty Seconds to Mars show at London’s O2 Arena in 2013, when she was 19. A third woman claims she had a sexual encounter with Leto at his California home when she was 17, below California’s age of consent, and says he brushed off her concerns after she raised the issue. A fourth woman, identified by the BBC as Etta, alleges the calls began when she was 16 after they met through a modelling agency in Los Angeles in 2014, and says she was later presented with a non-disclosure agreement that she refused to sign.
Nine of the ten women had never spoken publicly before taking part in the documentary. The BBC says it reviewed photographs, private messages and other material during its investigation into the allegations. The broadcaster also spoke to friends and family members who said the women had told them about the alleged incidents years earlier. Two former Thirty Seconds to Mars staff members also told the broadcaster they were uncomfortable with how often teenage girls were invited backstage or to the house where the band recorded.
Jared Leto Denies the Allegations
Leto has issued a statement denying every allegation from the documentary. “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life,” he said. He also called the claims “absolutely and categorically false,” according to Deadline.
This Isn’t the First Time Jared Leto Has Faced Accusations
Similar allegations had already surfaced before the BBC documentary. In 2025, Air Mail published an investigation featuring nine women who described comparable behaviour.
What’s Next for Jared Leto’s Career
His involvement in the promotional campaign for Masters of the Universe was noticeably limited, although neither Amazon MGM Studios nor Leto has publicly linked those decisions to the allegations or the BBC documentary. We covered that limited campaign in detail here.
Leto’s representation has so far stood by him. A WME spokesperson told Page Six the agency continues to represent Leto and has no plans to cut ties, adding that its client advisory committee — formed during the #MeToo movement, and which has previously dropped talent including Armie Hammer — was not reviewing the allegations.
Leto has not been charged with a crime and has denied the allegations in full. Neither Disney nor Searchlight has commented on Lunik Heist‘s status, and no one connected to Assassination has publicly addressed Jared Leto’s exit from that project. It’s the latest sign this news cycle is reshaping his career — we’ve tracked how his box-office track record was already working against him — and whether the fallout affects any of his other attachments remains to be seen.
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