Brad Pitt's Movie 'Bullet Train' Hit With COVID-19 Diagnosis Amid Production

COVID-19 has hit the set of Brad Pitt's latest movie, Bullet Train, reported Variety Thursday after an asymptomatic crew person tested positive for the virus on the Los Angeles set of the upcoming thriller. Cast and crew members were sent home after the positive test result came back, and in accordance with union protocols, the people on the cast and crew who were in contact with the positive crew member continue to be tested at home.

Pitt was reportedly one of the cast members to have contact with the infected crew member, but his camp declined to comment to Variety when asked for a statement on the actor's status. The outlet's source from inside production added there had been no additional positive test results and that Pitt has since tested negative several times since being sent home. Production on the film continues uninterrupted.

Bullet Train, which tells the story of five assassins who find themselves on a Japanese bullet train before realizing their missions intertwine, is directed by David Leitch, who oversaw John Wick and Atomic Blonde. Also in the cast are actors Joey King, Andrew Koji, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, Lady Gaga, Michael Shannon and Logan Lerman. The film is based on the novel Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka.

Bullet Train is one of a few major Hollywood productions that have been shut down amid safety protocols established amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Batman was the first blockbuster film to shut down after star Robert Pattinson reportedly tested positive. The movie had already been halted in March, shutting down for months as the coronavirus' spread began to quicken throughout the world, but about 25% of the movie was filmed before the initial shutdown, allowing for a trailer to be released despite the delay.

After kicking off filming on Sept. 1, the production was halted just two days later at Leavesden Studios outside of London, then resumed on Sept. 17 after Pattinson recovered, and cast and crew who were in close contact with the actor also quarantined. While some sets continued to be constructed during the shutdown, filming effectively came to a halt until negative tests were established all around. "Following a hiatus for COVID 19 quarantine precautions, filming has now resumed on The Batman in the U.K.," a spokesperson for Warner Bros. Pictures told Variety at the time. The delay forced Warner Bros. to push the film's scheduled release from June to Oct. 2021.