Fast & Furious 9 has reportedly resumed production, while the recently injured stuntman is still in a coma. According to The Wrap, production picked back up on Tuesday, after shutting down on Monday because of the tragic fall that stuntman Joe Watts took. Watts was doing a scene that required him to leap from a balcony. He was supposed to be caught by a cable, but it’s reported that the safety wire failed and Watts plunged toward the ground, landing on his head.
“He was meant to be left dangling below the balcony via the wire and then lowered slowly to the ground, but he plunged to the ground and landed on his head,” an insider said.
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“Vin Diesel was seen on set seconds after. He looked ashen, totally in shock and blinking back tears. He saw what happened,” the insider added.
According to Hello!, Watts’ fiancée Tilly Powell recently posted on Facebook about his condition, explaining, “I’m hoping yo
u all understand why I can’t get back to all your messages individually. I’m writing this to update everyone at once. Joe has suffered a serious head injury and is in an induced coma.”
“He is stable and is being monitored closely throughout the night,” she added. “I love him so much and my heart is shattered. He has all his family and friends by his side to get him through this!”
The incident took place at the Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire. Local authorities issued their own statement on the situation, saying, “Police were called shortly before noon today following an incident at Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire. It was reported that a man had been injured while working at the location and sustained serious injuries. The air ambulance attended and police officers are currently on scene to assist and carry out initial enquiries.”
While this appears to be the first time that he has worked as a stuntman with Diesel, Watts has been a film stuntman for many years.
The list of high profile films he has worked on includes Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and Netflix’s Adam Sandler-lead action-comedy Murder Mystery. Watts is also listed as doing stunt work for other upcoming films such as Wonder Woman 1984 and The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.
At this time, Universal Studios — who is producing Fast & Furious 9 — has not commented on the situation.
