Alec Baldwin has just been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter following the death of Rust director Halyna Hutchins last year, as well as the injury of the film’s director.

According to Woman’s Day, Baldwin could face up to 18 months in jail if he will be convicted of the crime.

“If the prosecution is successful, Alec knows he’s staring at 18 months’ jail time minimum. His legal team is working around the clock to prevent this, and they rate their chances at 50/50 right now. They’re going for full acquittal, of course, and will be asking why there was a live bullet on the set in the first place,” the source said.

The source added that the timing of Baldwin’s charges couldn’t have been worse because just days earlier, the actor was happily celebrating his daughter Ireland’s 27th birthday.

“It’s rocked the entire family. Everything is now under threat as Alec is having to funnel large chunks of money into his legal battle. It’s going to cripple them,” the source said.

Following Baldwin’s charges, legal experts weighed in on what the actor could expect in the coming weeks.

While speaking with Fox News Digital, attorney Kate Mangels said that the prosecution seemingly charged Baldwin with a more serious crime than what the actor’s camp might have been expecting.

“I think potentially what the prosecution here did was charged Alec Baldwin with sort of a more serious crime with potentially the expectation that they'll get an agreement to a lesser, less serious crime. So, I think it's not uncommon for prosecutors to charge sort of a more serious crime, even if it will be more difficult to prove that crime,” she said.

Criminal defense attorney Lara Yeretsian echoed Mangels’ sentiments by saying that the prosecution just needs to convince the jury that Baldwin committed a misdemeanor negligent use of a firearm for him to be convicted.

As of late, Baldwin has not directly responded to the charges that he is facing. And it’s unlikely for him to respond anytime soon. After all, his attorneys are encouraging him to stay silent.

For now, the trial could go either way and Baldwin could get out of the charges unscathed or he could indeed end up in jail.