On Monday, it was reported that Fast & Furious 9 ran into production issues when a stuntman was hospitalized with a "serious head injury." The accident took place on set in the UK at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, causing production to cease for the day. It has now been confirmed by Variety that stuntman Joe Watts, who was working on the second-unit when he was seriously hurt following a fall, has been placed in an induced coma as production has resumed on the film.
A UK agency responsible for workplace safety has launched an investigation into the accident. Universal and Warner Bros. declined to comment on the resumed production First-unit filming resumed on Tuesday while the second-unit has yet to get underway. "HSE is investigation the incident following attendance at the scene yesterday," a spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive explained.
Watts' fiancée, Tilly Powell, initially said on social media that the stuntman was "stable and being monitored closely through the night," but the post has since been deleted, as Deadline noted. The stuntman has worked on countless projects from Game of Thrones and The Hitman's Bodyguard, to Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Spider-Man: Far From Home. He suffered his injury when he fell off a platform that was elevated 20 feet from the ground, and was airlifted to Royal London Hospital shortly after.
Fast & Furious 9 is scheduled to hit theaters on May 22 of next year.
