JUST two weeks before “The Banker” was scheduled to open in theaters, Apple is delaying the release of the film following news of sexual assault allegations against one of the film’s co-producers.

“The Banker” was scheduled to debut in limited theaters Dec. 6 before premiering on Apple’s newly launched Apple TV+ streaming service in January. As a result of the theatrical delay, the streaming release has also been pushed back. The delay comes as Apple tries to figure out next steps with the film after canceling its gala premiere at the AFI Festival in Hollywood following The Hollywood Reporter’s report Wednesday on misconduct allegations against Bernard Garrett Jr., the son of one of the lead characters in the film, played by Anthony Mackie.

The film is based on the real life story of Garrett Jr.’s father, Bernard Garrett Sr., and Joe Morris (played by Samuel L. Jackson), two black men in Los Angeles who recruited a white man to front their growing real estate business some six decades ago in a pre-Civil Rights Act America.

Garrett Jr.’s half-sisters, roughly 15 years his junior, have recently made Apple aware of their claim that when he was a young man living in their home, he sexually molested them over the course of a few years. The sisters made the claim in connection with separate allegations that the timeline of the film was tweaked in order to leave the girls and their mother out of the story and instead feature Bernard Garrett Sr.’s first wife, even though he had already divorced her by the time of some of the events depicted in the film.

Garrett Jr., initially billed as a co-producer of “The Banker,” was supposed to be one of the film’s faces, along with stars Jackson and Mackie, during the film’s press tour, but since Nov. 5, his name has been scrubbed from publicity materials.

The film, directed by George Nolfi, was acquired by Apple in July and announced as part of its first round of content to be released on the new streaming platform. Apple had also been poising the film for awards recognition and releasing it in theaters before the end of the year so that it would qualify for awards contention. (SD-Agencies)