Production on “Deadpool 2” will start again Wednesday morning, two days after stuntwoman Joi “SJ” Harris was killed in a motorcycle accident on the Vancouver set. The stuntwoman had only recently joined the David Leitch-directed film after it was realized that they needed a different stunt performer for the production, Deadline has learned.
Brought on only last Wednesday to the already filming sequel, the first African-American female professional road racer was doing her first pic as a stunt performer. She was killed August 14 when the motorcycle that she was driving went out of control and crashed along the 1000-block of West Waterfront Road near in the Jack Poole Plaza.
Performing the stunt as the Domino character in the film and having done several takes successfully already, Harris was not wearing a helmet when the tragedy occurred. The previous stunt double did have a helmet outfitted to go under the Domino wig but because of the short notice of joining Fox’s “Deadpool 2,” Harris did not have time to get such a helmet made for her, Deadline has learned.
“Deadpool 2” halted production immediately after the fatality Monday. The movie is skedded for release on June 1, 2018. The British Columbia Coroner told Deadline on August 14 that “a coroner attended the scene and an investigation is underway with The Vancouver Police Department and WorkSafeBC which is also investigating this incident.”