Stuntpeople have the most dangerous job on a movie set. Their job is to put themselves in harm's way performing actions that are deemed too dangerous for the actors. Most of the time these stunts go off as planned and everybody is fine, but sometimes things go wrong. A stuntman on the set of the currently filming Fast & Furious 9 suffered a serious injury a few weeks back. While Joe Watts has spent the last three weeks in intensive care, it appears he is doing much better, as it's being reported he's now been moved out of the ICU.
Watts is still in the hospital, and likely will be for quite some time, but things are no longer so serious that he needs to be intensive care. It appears he will survive his injuries, though he certainly will have a lot of recuperating to do. That road begins now. Depending on the severity of his injuries, that road could last for the rest of his life.
It was back on July 22 that we leaned that paramedics had been called to Leavesden Studios in the UK, where Fast & Furious 9 is currently filming. Joe Watts had reportedly been injured in a fall and sustained a serious head injury. He was airlifted to the hospital from the studio and production was temporarily put on hold.
In a statement, Joe Watts family, and girlfriend, stunt performer Tilly Powell, thanked the medical professionals who helped save Watts' life as well as those who have sent words of encouragement and support. Both the Fast and Furious 9 cast and crew and Universal Pictures were specifically thanked for the support they have provided.
While things appear to be heading in the right direction for Joe watts, what's not clear is what his condition actually is. If he suffered a serious head injury in a fall, there could be permanent damage that can't be overcome with therapy. His career as a stuntman is very likely over. Still, better that he's alive.
According to Variety, the U.K. Health and Safety Executive is currently investigating the incident in order to determine the cause. More information about exactly what happened to Watts will likely come out if the group's findings are published. At this point, for obvious reasons, Universal Pictures is being pretty quiet about the whole thing. It's not even clear if the accident occurred as part of a stunt that went bad, or if it was just a random accident on the set.
Filming on the new Fast & Furious was stopped following the accident but it appears things were back up and running fairly soon after the accident. If the fall was part of a stunt, then it's possible the movie may have hit a snag as regards those particular shots, but that likely won't be enough to delay the film hitting its May 2020 release date.
