Explanation: What happened with Official Secrets feat. Gillian Anderson

Short answer: Nothing. Anyways, Gillian's fans have been anxious about a political thrilled called Official Secrets. For those of readers who've been confused about the project and her involvement, Gillian is, sadly, no longer a part of it for quite some time now.

Based on the first news published back in 2016, the project had its initial cast and premise:

"The Harrison Ford-starring political thriller is set in 2003. An illegal NSA plot is about to be conspired against the UN Security Council in order to ensure that the Iraq War goes according to plan." 

"Anderson will portray an MI6 agent who is somehow involved in accomplishing that evil plot." 

"The script was based on a book called The Spy Who Tried To Stop A War: Katharine Gun And The Secret Plot To Sanction The Iraq Invasion."

However by June 2017, filming had yet to begin, and Gillian Anderson stated she hadn't heard anything about the project since being cast. By January 2018, the project was redeveloped, with Gavin Hood now set to direct in place of Justin Chadwick, and Keira Knightley and Matt Smith cast in February, with the actors initially cast (Harrison Ford, Anthony Hopkins, Paul Bettany, Natalie Dormer, Martin Freeman, and Gillian Anderson) no longer involved in the film.

That version was redeveloped, and production began in 2018 with a new line-up and a new director. This is the plot of the final product:

This political thriller tells the real-life story of Katharine Gun (Knightley), a woman who leaked top-secret information to the press and exposed illegal activities by the USA in their campaign to invade Iraq in 2003. After the information appeared on the front page of The Observer, Gun confessed to leaking the email and was arrested and charged under the Official Secrets Act.

Official Secrets is out on 30 August 2019 (US) and 18th October 2019 (UK).


Sources: AV Club, Radio Times, Wikipedia