It was a massive story, and one that continues to have repercussions on the film industry to this day. On the New Mexico set of an independent film Rust, producer and star Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun. A live round was discharged, and Ukrainian cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed. There were investigations into Baldwin’s knowledge of the prop, and criminal charges brought up against Baldwin that eventually were dropped. But the news of the Rust incident sent shockwaves through the industry. And made it all the way to the set of Marvel’s new show, Secret Invasion.
In Secret Invasion, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) are working together to quash a Skrull uprising. And as episodes roll along, we are learning that more people in the MCU may or may not be Skrulls. Jackson and co-star Charlayne Woodard, in a recent episode, had a tense face off at a dinner table that involved guns being pointed and fired. And while that scene, alone, would have been emotionally complicated, Woodard told me why there was added weight to the sequence.
During an interview on behalf of Secret Invasion, Woodard talked about that confrontation and said to CinemaBlend:
That was a very difficult day on set because it was the same day we had found out about the accident in (New) Mexico with the guns on the (Rust) set. So that added a layer of tension to the whole experience. And the way our armourer was so careful and so specific, and step by step by step, and everything took on another level of importance. It raised the stakes.
As I imagine it would be. Hearing about a tragedy like the one that happened on Rust, and then having to fire off a prop weapon yourself would have to be nerve-wracking. Even with the armourer being as cautious as possible, the actors no doubt had to feel in the backs of their minds that there was a possibility of an accident happening. And on top of that, Samuel L. Jackson and Charlayne Woodard had to play the deep emotion of the scene.
Stop reading here if you aren’t up to speed on Secret Invasion.
Because as Woodard recalled:
And here I am in a situation where, on top of everything, I die if I don't kill (Nick Fury). And I have to kill the men that I actually love. That is a tough situation. Do I sacrifice myself here? And I do. It's just that he doesn't hit me. It was a very, very deep day. And then there was that very vulnerable moment for myself, when I say, ‘Would you love me still if I looked like that? If I didn't look like this?’ And he simply gives me a non answer. (That’s a) big gut punch. Right after I was willing to die to save his life, and then I get this gut punch. It was a very intense day, but I love that kind of thing. That's why we're actors. Why we like this game.
There are only two more episodes of Secret Invasion left, and a LOT of loose ends that need to be addressed. Some of them could be explored further in Upcoming Marvel Movies, specifically ones like Thunderbolts, or even Captain America: Brave New World. Because I can’t imagine how different the world is going to look once the events of Secret Invasion have played themselves out.
