If he gets his way, Danny Masterson won’t have to go back to court to be retried for rape. Back in November, the trial involving Masterson ended in a hung jury which resulted in a new trial scheduled to take place in March. Ahead of the retrial, Masterson’s lawyers have just filed a new motion to formally dismiss all counts against the actor. They argue that the evidence was in Masterson’s favor, insisting that a new trial won’t result in a different outcome.

“The jury focused on the most relevant evidence -the testimony and prior statements of the Jane Does – and a strong majority reasonably concluded that this critical evidence established reasonable doubt,” writes attorenys Phillip K. Cohen and Karen Goldstein in the filing, per Deadline. “The contradictory nature of their trial testimony is not going to credibly change… Indeed, to the extent it was to change at any subsequent trial, that ‘change’ would provide yet more fodder for inconsistencies, contradictions, and impeachment."

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The filing adds that the court needs to “exercise its discretion to dismiss this prosecution in the interests of justice…there is no reason to believe a retrial will produce a different outcome…After leading the lengthy deliberations, the jury foreperson formed the opinion that no jury is likely ever render unanimous guilty verdicts. He is correct.”

Masterson was faced with three counts of rape that two alleged victims say happened between 2001 and 2003. At the time, Masterson was still at the peak of his fame as one of the stars of the popular sitcom That ’70s Show. Ever since these allegations were made public, the actor has professed that he is innocent, denying that he’s ever had unconsensual sex with the alleged victims or anyone else. The jury ruled in Masterson’s favor on all three counts, resulting in the deadlock. This reportedly includes 10-2 for not guilty on Count 1, 8-4 for not guilty on Count 2, and 7-5 for not guilty on Count 3.

Danny Masterson Won’t Return as Hyde in That ’90s Show

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This news comes just ahead of the premiere of That ’90s Show, a follow-up to That ’70s Show on Netflix. The new series brings back every prominent character from the original series except for Masterson, who played Steven Hyde. Obviously, this is due to the allegations against Masterson, who was scheduled to go under trial for rape when That ’90s Show was in production. He had also already been fired by Netflix when the allegations first came to the public eye in 2017, and that was even before he’d been criminally charged.

In other words, chances are we won’t see Hyde appearing in That ’90s Show. It remains to be seen if his character’s absence is addressed in the series, and we’ll know when it premieres on Jan. 19. As for Masterson, time will tell if the judge grants the defense’s request to drop the charges ahead of the retrial.