A stuntman for the film Fast & Furious 9 was hospitalized due to a serious head injury sustained from an accident on-set.
The movie’s production at Warner Bros. Studios Leaves in Hertfordshire, England was put to a halt after the terrible accident. A spokesperson from the film’s producer, Universal, confirmed the news in a statement to Variety last Monday.
“We had an injury on the set of ‘FAST 9’ today in Leavesden with one of our stuntmen,” the statement reportedly said, “We have halted production for the day to focus on this situation.”
Local authorities say they were called to respond to an incident shortly before noon in U.K. time. An air ambulance was duly summoned.
“An ambulance, three ambulance officer vehicles and Essex and Herts [Hertfordshire] Air Ambulance were called to Leavesden Studios shortly before midday today (July 22), following reports of a man injured in a fall. One patient with a serious head injury was transported to the Royal London Hospital by air ambulance,” police reportedly said in a statement.
Despite the setback, Fast & Furious 9 is expected to open in its original release date of May 2020. The film will star Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Cena, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron. As of this writing, it is unknown whether or not any of the stars were present on set when the accident took place.
The accident is only one of the latest series of recent incidents in film and tv production. Last week, an SFX coordinator on the set of DCU Titans was killed in a fatal car stunt accident. Throughout filming for the upcoming Bond 25, multiple on-set accidents have occurred.
Related: DCU Titans SFX crew member killed on set in a fatal accident
The accident is the latest in a series of recent incidents at the studio. In June a man sustained a neck injury and was hospitalized after an altercation with another crew member on the set of Anne Hathaway’s “The Witches.” A huge fire damaged one of the sets of HBO series “Avenue 5” earlier this month. Since then, unspecified “foreign bodies” have been discovered in food at a restaurant at the studio and police are investigating.
Leavesden was the base for the Harry Potter movies. It is now home to the popular Harry Potter studio tour. With studio space in demand in the U.K., an expansion program is underway.