Fast & Furious 9 Filmmakers Fined $1million After In Set Accident

The creators of the Fast & Furious film franchise have been slapped with a hefty £800,000 ($1 million) fine after a stuntman, Joe Watts, suffered brain damage during the production of Fast & Furious 9: The Fast Saga.

Watts endured a harrowing incident in July 2019 at Warner Bros’ studios in Hertfordshire, UK, when he fell eight meters onto concrete, resulting in a broken skull. The court learned that the safety line crucial for his protection became detached during a stunt that was altered on the spot, despite being rehearsed.

District Judge Talwinder Buttar, presiding at Luton Magistrates Court, criticized the last-minute decision to change the stunt and emphasized the failure to check the safety line between takes. The judge also highlighted the negligence in not adjusting the matting beneath Watts.

According to Deadline, The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution, describing Watts’ injuries as “life-changing” and emphasizing the importance of minimizing the risk of injury in stunt work. FF9 Pictures, the production company, admitted to health and safety failings in court on Friday and accepted the imposed fine.

Prior to the unfortunate incident, Joe Watts had an extensive career, contributing to well-known productions such as Game of Thrones, Johnny English Strikes Again, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

Fast & Furious 9, featuring a star-studded cast including Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, John Cena, Kurt Russell, and Charlize Theron, had a substantial production budget ranging from $200 to $225 million.

Despite the setback, the film, released in 2021, garnered significant success with a global box office revenue of $726.5 million.