The death of the 'Wonder Man' rigger follows other recent fatal incidents on the sets of movies and TV series. Photo: TNS
A crew member died Tuesday (Feb 6) morning on the Los Angeles set of a Marvel TV series after falling from the rafters, a Marvel spokesperson has confirmed.
The crew member, a rigger, was working on Marvel Studios’ Wonder Man at Radford Studio Center in Studio City when the incident occurred.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers arrived Tuesday at the 4000 block of Radford Street for a death investigation upon receiving a call that a 50-year-old man had fallen from a catwalk onto a stage.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family and friends, and our support is behind the investigation into the circumstances of this accident,” a Marvel spokesperson said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
Wonder Man is set to star Watchmen and Aquaman actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, a munitions heir who develops superpowers and antagonises the Avengers superhero squad, according to Deadline.
Based on Stan Lee’s comics, the show was created by Andrew Guest and Shang-Chi And The Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton for Marvel, which is owned by Walt Disney Co.
Cretton remained aboard Wonder Man after exiting another Marvel project, Avengers: Kang Dynasty, which was set to star the embattled Jonathan Majors, last year.
The death of the Wonder Man rigger follows other recent fatal incidents on the sets of movies and TV series.
In October 2021,Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after a bullet from a prop gun handled by actor Alec Baldwin struck her in the chest on the set of the film near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Director Joel Souza was also injured but recovered.
In July 2017, The Walking Dead stuntman John Bernecker died after plummeting from a balcony onto a concrete floor on the set of the AMC zombie series.
A 2015 LA Times report found an increased number of fatalities during filming in recent preceding years, with some industry experts blaming the pursuit of dramatic footage to stay competitive, especially in reality TV.
For example, three people died in a helicopter crash while filming a military show for the Discovery Channel in 2013. Two years later, 10 people died in another helicopter crash during production on an adventure show in Argentina.
Deadline was first to report the news of the death on the Wonder Man set.
In a statement to the LA Times, a spokesperson for Hollywood crew members union IATSE said that “everyone in the IA family is shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic loss.”
“Safety on set is our highest priority and we will assist Cal/OSHA in their investigation in any way that we can,” the statement continued. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
