The Fast and the Furious franchise is one of the most popular around, in no small part to its crazy, death-defying stunts. With such dangerous on-camera endeavors, someone was bound to get injured at one point or another. Producers are now admitting that a lack of oversight was the reason for a recent debilitating stuntman injury.
During the filming of F9: The Fast Saga, an experienced stunt performer named Joe Watts was rehearsing a fight scene for the movie with a Vin Diesel stand-in. At one point, he was thrown off a balcony from 20 feet and was severely injured when he missed the mat on the floor.
However, his safety wire failed, and the stunt was performed differently than it was during rehearsal, so he ended up suffering a traumatic brain injury, a fractured skull, shoulder damage, and some psychiatric effects due to the accident. Watts is a stunt veteran, having previously appeared in movies like Solo: A Star Wars Story and Pokemon: Detective Pikachu.
Watts’ lawyers describe his injuries as “life changing,” per Variety. After the injury, Watts was in a coma for five days and still has to deal with “a series of cognitive and physical issues.” Watts sued FF9 Pictures Limited (a Universal Pictures subsidiary in England) for $1.2 million.
“He will not be able to return to his pre-accident employment as a stuntman,” he said in court filings. “If he is able to work, he will suffer a permanent handicap on the labour market.” After the accident, Universal Pictures shared a statement that said:
“Joe is a professional in every sense of the word and his commitment to his craft is inspiring to all of us. We know he’ll continue to inspire us throughout his recovery. Everyone in the Fast family sends our heartfelt wishes and we will continue to support Joe and his family however we can.”
In Court, FF9 Limited admitted its liability. “It is admitted that the sole cause of the accident was the negligence of [FF9 Pictures Limited] its servants or agents or those for whom it is vicariously liable,” the company said in a court filing, adding that Watts did not contribute to the negligence. The company said it was rely on evidence to advise the court on how much compensation would be appropriate.
Watts said he’s been working incredibly hard on his recovery since the accident four years ago.
“I know I’ll never get back to performing, which still upsets me, but I’m determined to get my life back on track as best I can. I’m therefore grateful that FF9 Limited has admitted liability and now call on the film industry to make their sets safer for those working on it. I wouldn’t wish what I went through on anyone.”
We’ll keep you posted on what happens next, but hopefully it involves Watts getting rich and in a perfect world, no more Fast movies. Not going to hold my breath though, I have a feeling they’ll make Fast 69 the year after I die with CGI Vin Diesel talking about his AI family or whatever.