The 10th installment of the Fast and Furious franchise was released earlier this year, accompanied by some criticism due to its unrealistic action sequences. However, disapproval over its narrative style was not the only thing that came with the film. Dominic Toretto and his family brought along a "life-changing" 2019 controversy that wasn't resolved until now.
F9, the title of the ninth Fast and Furious installment, was previously released in 2021, again following Toretto's journey to save his community against a world-shattering threat. Unfortunately, the production brought along an incident on set almost four years ago. Joe Watts, a stunt performer who has worked on other projects such as Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and Solo: A Star Wars Story, was rehearsing a trick on the F9 set in 2019 with a stand-in for Vin Diesel when he was thrown over a balcony and landed 20 feet on a concrete floor, resulting in a fractured skull, traumatic brain injury, psychiatric injury, and damage to his shoulder.
Watts filed a legal claim against FF9 Pictures Limited, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures in the UK, asking for $1.2 million in damages last year. He told Variety that in the four years since the incident, he has been working on getting his life back on track, despite knowing he will never be able to perform again. In turn, FF9 had not publicly made a statement until recently, when they admitted liability on set. In their defense filing, the studio admitted that the cause of the accident was "the negligence of [FF9 Pictures Limited] its servants or agents." They also explain that they do not attribute negligence by Watts, accepting to grant him any compensation that the court or both parties deem appropriate.
Watt's injuries will prevent him from working as a stunt performer again. "If he is able to work, he will suffer a permanent handicap on the labor market," Watt's legal claims say. The almost-fatal stunt, which left the performer in a coma for five days, was allegedly credited to a malfunctioning safety wire designed to stop the performer's fall. As for the studio, they declined to comment on the severity of the stuntman's injuries, their prognosis, or consequences. They also refrained from discussing amounts in compensation, saying they would rely on "expert advice" to advise the court.
With both parties agreeing on an outcome of the incident, it is now up to them and the court to negotiate compensation for Watts. As for the actual film, the Fast and Furious franchise is set to run its final lap with its upcoming eleventh installment, which will be released on April 4, 2025. However, a spinoff film starring Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs is in the works to act as a bridge between the final two Fast and Furious films.
Fast and Furious 10 is available on digital platforms.
Source: Variety