Baldwin, 64, was due to appear before a court on Friday for his first hearing but filed a legal appeal the day before to avoid it, presenting instead in writing his plea of not guilty.
The Hollywood star faces justice for the tragedy on the set of the western movie in which he starred and co-produced.
Baldwin was holding a Colt .45 revolver during production rehearsals in October 2021, when it fired, injuring cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died shortly thereafter.
The actor claims that he did not pull the trigger and that the assistant director told him that the gun was “cold” when he handed it over. The jargon is used in the world of entertainment as a synonym for downloaded.
He was accused in January of this year by the New Mexico court, the state where the film was shot.
“We have taken another important step to ensure justice for Halyna Hutchins,” Mary Carmack-Altwies, New Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney, said at the time.
“In New Mexico no one is above the law, and there will be justice.”
The film’s gun handler, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was also charged with manslaughter.
Hutchins’ parents and sister filed a civil lawsuit against Baldwin and the other “Rust” producers who had already reached a financial settlement with the victim’s widower.