Director Ridley Scott made the decision following the revelations, replacing Spacey with 87-year old Christopher Plummer.

The film tells the true story of the kidnapping of oil billionaire John Paul Getty's grandson John Paul Getty III in 1973.

Principal photography on the film had already wrapped, but Spacey's scenes were all re-shot with Plummer to adhere to the film's scheduled release date of December 22 in the US.

The cast, including the film's leading stars Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg, and the crew all returned to reshoot Spacey's scene.

The reshoots, which took just nine days, are reported to have cost as much as $10 million.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Williams said she was glad to that Spacey was removed for the film and his scenes reshot as it made her "feel better".

"I’m so very proud to be a part of this - we’re all here for Ridley. When this idea was hatched, I immediately started to feel better.

"This doesn’t do anything to ease the suffering of people who were all too personally affected by Kevin Spacey, but it is our little act of trying to right a wrong. And it sends a message to predators - you can’t get away with this anymore. Something will be done."

Compare the actors in the two trailers here: