Crew member dies on set of new Marvel TV series Wonder Man

Marvel Show Wonder Man will star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a rival of the Avengers, some of whom are pictured here. Photograph: Chuck Zlotnick/AP
Investigation under way as unidentified worker dies after falling from the rafters at CBS Radford Studios

A crew member on the upcoming Marvel TV series Wonder Man has died following an on-set accident.

The unidentified worker, a rigger at CBS Radford Studios, died after falling from the rafters on Tuesday morning. The accident did not occur during filming, but the rigger was working on the set of the Marvel television series, which resumed production in January after several strike-related delays.

A Marvel spokesperson confirmed the death and added a statement from the studio: “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family and friends, and our support is behind the investigation into the circumstances of this accident.”

The 10-episode series created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest follows the Marvel character of the same name, the scion of wealthy industrialists who goes to work for the villain Baron Zemo after his company loses out to Tony Stark’s Stark Industries. Gifted with supernatural powers such as extreme strength, Wonder Man begins as a rival of the Avengers and eventually teams up with them.

The series, developed for the streaming service Disney+, stars Watchmen’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II along with Ben Kingsley, Demetrius Grosse and Ed Harris. Filming began in April 2023 before production was halted by the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes.

Last year saw several crew members injured on the Morocco set of Gladiator 2 during an explosive stunt sequence that went wrong, and a 63-year-old production assistant was killed while setting up traffic cones for a shoot in Brooklyn on the set of the Starz hit Power.

According to the Associated Press, there were 194 serious on-set accidents between 1990 and 2014 and at least 43 deaths.