What are the charges Alec Baldwin will face over 'Rust' shooting?

Alec Baldwin is slated to take center stage for what could be one of the biggest criminal trials in entertainment history, and a legal expert said there is no telling how the case will swing.

On Thursday, New Mexico prosecutors announced they will charge the actor and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed each with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the of the film "Rust."

Baldwin has maintained his innocence contending he didn't know the gun he used was loaded, that he didn’t pull the trigger and called the shooting an accident.

ABC News' Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams spoke with "Start Here" Friday about the legal ramifications of the case and what to expect from the upcoming trial.

START HERE: Dan first off what does involuntary manslaughter mean in this case and where does it rank on the charges Baldwin could have faced?

DAN ABRAMS: Well, they did throw the book at him here. They basically offered two different possible theories of involuntary manslaughter that a jury could accept in order to find him guilty. One where there's basically just negligence on his part, And their point is that it wasn't just the negligence with regard to the gun itself. It was broadly the safety on the set.

That involuntary manslaughter charge is one where Baldwin could face up to 18 months in prison. But there's a more significant involuntary manslaughter charge. And they've also said they're going to move forward with, And that's one where there was more than just negligence involved in a death.

And that one, they've basically thrown in what's called a firearm enhancement because there was a firearm used. For that one, you've got the possibility of a mandatory, five-year sentence. So if a jury were to believe that it was more than just negligent, reckless, for example, that could mean that, if convicted, Baldwin could be facing a mandatory five-year term.

START HERE: And mandatory because, that's how New Mexico laws like this particular law [work]?

ABRAMS: Correct.

START HERE: His defense is pretty simple, though? His defense is "Sorry, I didn't know there was a live bullet anywhere on set. I'm not a person loading this gun. I didn't know there was a live bullet in a gun or on set. how would this be his fault?"

ABRAMS: This is going to be a tough case for prosecutors. They first have to get over a judge in a preliminary hearing who's going to say it is enough to move forward. I could see a judge throwing out one of the theories. The more severe of the two and just saying we're going to let it go to trial maybe the on the less significant one. But then there's the jury. And that's going to be Alec Baldwin's defense. His defense is going to be this was a mistake. How can you possibly blame me? I'm an actor. I was handed a gun. I was doing a scene. How is that negligent on my part? And this is where Alec Baldwin's role as both a producer and an actor comes into play, because the D.A. is already talking about the fact that there were warnings on the set. And that suggests that they intend to use that as part of the evidence against both the armorer and Alec Baldwin.

START HERE: Can you talk about the other people on set because there are charges with those folks as well, Right?

ABRAMS: Right. So you've got the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and she is charged the exact same charges as Alec Baldwin. The assistant director, David Halls, who is the one who apparently handed Baldwin the gun, has made an agreement. He's going to plead to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. He's going to get no jail time, six months probation, and he's going to clearly testify against the other two.

SART HERE: Oh, so he ends up being like a cooperating witness essentially?

ABRAMS: Absolutely. Absolutely.

One of the questions was, whose fault is all of this? I mean, everyone's pointing fingers at everyone else. David Halls is saying, "How can you blame me? I was told that the gun was quote 'cold.'" The armorer is saying, "You can't blame me. There was never supposed to be any live rounds anywhere. How is it my fault?" Alec Baldwin is saying, "How is it my fault?" And look, they all have an argument to make, right? These aren't like absurd arguments.

START HERE: But does it hurt Alec Baldwin that for months, for months, he said "I didn't pull the trigger." Clearly, the D.A. says, "Yeah, yeah, you did."

ABRAMS: That was a really, I think, foolish thing for Alec Baldwin to say. Even if he believes it's true, for him to have gone out publicly and said, I didn't pull the trigger, no way, no way, I would have pulled the trigger. I know better than to pull the trigger. That's my training indicates. You can't do that. And they get this report from the FBI it says that this gun couldn't have gone off without someone pulling the trigger. It's almost inviting the D.A. to charge.It's almost saying, "Well, boy, if we use your standard Alec Baldwin, which is of course, no one would pull the trigger…and we have evidence now that it must have been pulled, then what else are we supposed to do?"

START HERE: Right for the Baldwin team, good luck convincing the DA that they're right, the FBI is wrong.

ABRAMS: And they can challenge the FBI report and they will. They're going to say the FBI report does not tell the whole story, that on this particular weapon there are questions, etc., etc. So everything with regard to evidence in this case will be challenged.

START HERE: Last question for you, Dan. I mean, clearly this day a year ago is going to have huge consequences for I mean, forget these people's careers like the rest of their lives. Will could very well be defined by this moment. Does this go beyond that, though? Are there continued ramifications for broader Hollywood or the film world or for gun safety? What do you think?

ABRAMS: This stuff doesn't happen very often. It's not like people get killed on the set of a movie, very often. It's happened and there have been people who have been charged. I think that the incident itself was a significant reminder to the movie industry that safety on set matters and not just in terms of someone getting hurt, which obviously is the most important issue, but even it's a secondary issue is, boy, we better be careful because we could get sued.This case is now so front and center that there's no claiming that, oh, well, you know, we cut corners, etc. So while I don't think this is going to have a sort of a mega impact, the real impact it may have is on some of the smaller productions where they tend to do lower budget.

START HERE: Is this shot worth going to jail over potentially?

ABRAMS: Exactly. Exactly.

START HERE: Here’s the statement from Baldwin’s attorney, "This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice. Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win." The lawyer for the armorer says Hannah Guttierez Reed is innocent and that this has been a flawed investigation.