Newt week is a big week for fans of the Fast & Furious movies as the franchise will see the release of its first spin-off film, Hobbs & Shaw. However, things have taken an unfortunate turn on Fast & Furious 9 set. Sadly, the production had to be put on hold this week after Vin Diesel’s stunt double, Joe Watts, suffered an injury. According to the reports, a safety cable snapped and Watts ended up falling 30 feet from a balcony to the ground. Earlier this week, Watts was placed in an induced coma. Jason Statham, who is starring in Hobbs & Shaw, recently spoke to Extra and discussed the accident.
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“It is awful. It’s an unpredictable science… You do every measure that you can to eliminate these things from happening. It’s just a real shame that accidents happen. It’s awful for the families… when someone gets really hurt. On set, the stunt people are and have been for my whole career the best relationships I have and the most fun I have ever had on a set, always with the stunt guys.”
He added, “I feel they are the unsung heroes in some ways. They put themselves out there to make other people look good without anything back.”
Statham sometimes does his own stunts, but not in a franchise of this size.
“We are pretty smart about not putting ourselves in harm’s way,” he explained. “The studio for these big movies, they don’t want you to do anything. It is just one of the risks that they don’t want you to take.” He pointed out, “When you do a small movie… I did The Transporter, they couldn’t afford a stunt double, I did almost every little piece that I could do.”
Tilly Powell, Watts’ fiancée, recently released a statement on social media:
“I love him so much,” she wrote. “He has all his friends and family by his side to get him through this.”
Watts has been involved with a number of big projects, including Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Jurassic World, and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw hits theaters on August 2nd.
