Movie sets can be dangerous places despite safety guidelines and regulations, and some have been the site of tragic disasters. While film sets strive to prioritize safety, several major movies have been marred by catastrophes. Unfortunately, many of these have been fatal.
One might presume that modern cinema sets have refined safety standards over the years and effectively minimized accidents. This is mostly true. However, filming movies — particularly those requiring a lot of stunts — can still go wrong, no matter how extensively filmmakers and performers prepare. Accidents happen, and these on-set disasters might be the worst to occur during production.
9 The Crow
Perhaps the most infamous movie set disaster occurred while filming 1994’s The Crow, resulting in the death of star Brandon Lee (via NPR). Nearing the end of production, Lee was filming the movie’s opening, wherein his character, Eric Draven, is shot by thugs. After using dummy rounds (bullets with no gunpowder) for a previous scene, a bullet was lodged in the gun barrel. Nobody checked the barrel, and the gun was subsequently loaded with a blank round (gunpowder with no bullet) for Lee’s scene, effectively becoming a fully live round. Lee was mortally wounded and died on set.
8 Twilight Zone: The Movie
One of the most tragic on-set disasters happened during Twilight Zone: The Movie. The Twilight Zone had many great episodes and fierce popularity throughout its run, leading in 1986 to the production of a feature-length anthology movie. While filming the movie’s first segment, actor Vic Morrow and two children — Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen — were all killed by a falling helicopter. The low-flying helicopter was jolted by pyrotechnics on the ground, which were reportedly much larger than the pilot or film crew were expecting. The helicopter spun out of control, landing on Morrow and the two kids and killing them instantly.
7 Rust
Another firearm tragedy occurred in 2021 on the set of the Western movie Rust. As actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene in which his character pointed a gun toward the camera, the gun accidentally fired. Of the three people standing behind the camera, two were shot. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was hit in the chest and died on the way to the hospital, while director Joel Souza was injured in the shoulder. Details remain unclear, but Baldwin has vehemently denied pulling the trigger and was subsequently cleared of involuntary manslaughter charges. Rust has since finished filming.
6 The Dark Knight
While The Dark Knight is often associated with the untimely death of actor Heath Ledger, the movie also claimed another life. Stunt performer Conway Wickliffe died while rehearsing one of the movie’s car chases (via The Guardian). For the scene, during which the Batmobile is blown up, Wickliffe was leaning out of the passenger-side car window while filming another car that was running parallel. His fellow stunt driver unfortunately missed the turning at the end of the track and their vehicle collided with a tree. Wickliffe tragically died at the scene, and The Dark Knight is dedicated to both his and Ledger’s memory.
5 Midnight Rider
Midnight Rider is an unfinished biopic about blues musician Gregg Allman. It only managed one day of filming in 2014 before tragedy struck, ending the production indefinitely. The cast and crew began filming a dream sequence that featured actor William Hurt laying on a metal bed upon a trestle railway bridge over the Altamaha River in the state of Georgia. Unbeknownst to the crew, a freight train was rapidly approaching, and they acted too late to reach safety. Several of the crew were injured, but as the train struck the metal bed, camera assistant Sarah Jones was propelled towards the train by shrapnel, killing her instantly (via The Hollywood Reporter).
4 Top Gun
Tom Cruise’s classic action thriller Top Gun was famed for its use of aerobatic stunts and flight sequences — many of which Cruise filmed himself in Top Gun: Maverick, the movie’s sequel. Among the stunt pilots employed by Top Gun was the highly regarded Art Scholl. Sadly, while filming a stunt sequence, Scholl failed to recover from a spin and lost control of his aircraft after. Scholl crashed in the Pacific Ocean, off the Southern Californian coast. Neither Scholl nor the plane were ever recovered, and as a result, the cause of the crash has never been fully determined. Top Gun was dedicated to Scholl’s memory.
3 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part One
Stunt performer David Holmes acted as star Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double for the first six Harry Potter movies. Holmes was testing a stunt sequence on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part One, called a “jerk-back,” or a stunt designed to imitate the effects of an explosive blast. Per Holmes’ 2014 interview with The Mirror, he was slammed into a wall, landing on a crash mat beneath. Tragically, Holmes’ neck was broken by the ordeal, and he was left paralyzed. Now a wheelchair user, Holmes has started a podcast with Radcliffe called Cunning Stunts, in which the pair interview stunt performers from the movie industry.
2 The Conquerer
The 1956 movie The Conqueror is mostly remembered for its woeful miscasting of John Wayne as the Mongol Genghis Khan. However, the movie has retained a more deadly legacy thanks to its filming location. Across several sites in Utah, The Conquerer was filmed downwind of the American nuclear weapons test site, the Nevada National Security Site. Despite being assured of their safety, 91 crew members would develop cancer in their later lives (via People). Of these, 46 died from their illnesses, including Wayne himself, who died of stomach cancer at age 72.
1 Deadpool 2
Motorcyclist Joi Harris died while performing a stunt on the set of Deadpool 2, filling in as Zazie Beetz’s character, Domino. After successfully rehearsing the stunt sequence, Harris performed the stunt dressed as Domino. However, because of time constraints, adequate safety gear had not been produced to fit underneath the character’s clothing. As a result, Harris was not wearing a helmet when she lost control of her motorbike. Hitting a curb, Harris was thrown through a window of the Rogers Tower in Vancouver and pronounced dead at the scene. It is one of the most recent and tragic disasters to have occurred on a major movie set.
