The Walt Disney Company executive vice president, head of theatrical distribution, Tony Chambers, speaks about an upcoming film from Marvel Studios during the Walt Disney Studios presentation during CinemaCon, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on April 26, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. ETHAN MILLER/Getty Images via AFP
A crew member died Tuesday, Feb. 6, while working on the set of new Marvel superhero television series “Wonder Man” in Los Angeles, Disney said.
The man, who has not been named, fell from high rafters at Radford Studio Center early Tuesday and died from his injuries.
He was working as a rigger—an industry term for someone who constructs equipment such as scaffolding, lighting and electric cables on movie and television sets.
Filming was not occurring at the time of the incident.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family and friends, and our support is behind the investigation into the circumstances of this accident,” a Marvel spokesperson said in a statement.
The accident comes at a time when workplace safety in the entertainment industry is under high scrutiny, following the tragic fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of Alec Baldwin’s Western “Rust” in 2021.
Issues surrounding workplace conditions were also central to last year’s strikes by Hollywood actors.
Unions representing on-set technical workers are set to renegotiate their own contracts with studios later this year.
Tuesday’s accident occurred on the set of “Wonder Man,” a Marvel superhero series starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley.
Kingsley is set to reprise his role as Trevor Slattery, from 2013 Marvel film “Iron Man 3.” AP