UPDATE: The Deadpool 2 stunt woman has been identified as Joi “SJ” Harris. Harris was a professional road racer and she was performing her first stunt ever for a movie.
We are sad to report (via Entertainment Weekly) that a Deadpool 2 stunt person has been tragically killed while shooting on location in Vancouver. The stunt gone wrong on the 20th Century Fox film involved a female stunt driver on a motorcycle doubling for actress Zazie Beetz as Domino. The Vancouver Police Department confirmed the sad news…
A stunt driver has died on the set of Deadpool during a stunt on a motorcycle. VPD & @WorkSafeBC investigators are at the scene.
— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) August 14, 2017
According to TMZ, the unidentified rider never applied the breaks during a chase through the city streets, and her bike went airborne and crashed through the glass of a ground-floor studio inside Shaw Tower.
20th Century Fox released this statement: “We are deeply saddened by the accident that occurred on the set of ‘Deadpool 2’ this morning. Our hearts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of our crew member during this difficult time.”
Ryan Reynolds made the following statement: “Today, we tragically lost a member of our crew while filming Deadpool. We’re heartbroken, shocked and devastated… but recognize nothing can come close to the grief and inexplicable pain her family and loved ones must feel in this moment. My heart pours out to them — along with each and every person she touched in this world.”
This news comes a mere day after TMZ released footage of superstar Tom Cruise badly injuring himself during a stunt gone wrong on the London set of Paramount’s Mission: Impossible 6. Click here to see the footage, which involves Cruise jumping from one building to another and missing his mark, landing hard against the side of the building. The daredevil actor attempted the stunt at least twice, and is seen visibly limping while still attached to his safety harness. There is no official word from the production on how badly Cruise was injured or if it will affect the filming schedule.
This is another unfortunate reminder of the risks stunt people take for our entertainment. In 2015, British stunt woman Olivia Jackson spent time in a coma and had to have her arm amputated after a similar motorcycle stunt went bad, while only last month stunt person John Bernecker was killed in a freak accident on the set of AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Ryan Reynolds is reprising his role as the Merc with a Mouth in Deadpool 2 alongside Zazie Beetz as the luck-manipulating mutant Domino and Josh Brolin as Cable, the time-traveling son of the X-Men’s Cyclops. Jack Kesy (The Strain, Baywatch) is attached to play the film’s central villain, which, while unconfirmed, is rumored to be Irish mutant Black Tom Cassidy. Japanese actress Shioli Kutsuna and Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) have also joined the film in mystery roles.
Other stars returning from the first Deadpool include Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and Stefan Kapicic as the voice of Colossus. Deadpool 2 is set to debut in theaters on June 1, 2018.
Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in the highly-anticipated July 27, 2018 release Mission: Impossible 6, which also features the returning cast of Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn), Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell), Rebecca Ferguson (Ilsa Faust) Sean Harris (Solomon Lane), Michelle Monaghan (Julia Meade) and Alec Baldwin (Alan Hunley), as well as franchise newcomers Henry Cavill (upcoming Justice League), Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) and Angela Bassett (upcoming Black Panther).
Christopher McQuarrie, who previously helmed Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, is once again writing and directing the sequel. His return to the franchise marks the first time a director has helmed more than one Mission: Impossible film.
