Jonathan Majors‘ new action movie, backed by Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire and Dallas Sonnier‘s Bonfire Legend, is facing scrutiny following an on-set accident and a crew strike.
On Friday, Deadline obtained footage of Majors and his co-star, JC Kilcoyne, accidentally falling through a window while filming a scene. In the clip, the two actors stumble backwards into the glass before falling through and out of the frame. As crew members rush in to check whether they’re okay, two voices can be heard affirming that they’re “good.” A voice that appears to be Majors asks if the production was rolling on the action. “Did we shoot it?” the man asks. “Use it.”
Sources told Deadline that the accident occurred “after the window was replaced with an unsecured sheet of tempered glass to be purposefully shattered in a later stunt that did not involve any actors,” and that the actors, and the pane of glass, fell about six feet to the ground. The same sources revealed that Kilcoyne required stitches in his hands.
Kilcoyne’s reps tell Variety that the actor is “doing well and was taken care of immediately by production.” Kilcoyne is wrapped filming on the movie, but his team notes that he “did not feel unsafe on set and continued to have a positive experience working on the project.”
Representatives for Majors have not returned requests for comment. In addition to starring in the film, Majors is an executive producer on the movie under his Tall Street Productions banner.
“The actors’ fall was shorter than the failed movie careers of the now-union reps,” Sonnier told Variety, responding to a request for comment about the accident, as well as the production’s negotiations with the crew who’ve walked off the South Carolina set.
On March 26, IATSE called a strike against the production after crew members walked off the job, which is shooting under the working title “Knuckle,” over a series of labor concerns. Deadline’s reporting indicates that the on-set accident was many crew members’ final straw with the indie production.
“The producers are actively looking for replacement crew,” IATSE shared in a social media post. “All IATSE members are advised not to cross the picket line.”
Despite the walkout, filming is said to continue in some capacity. Variety has reached out to the union for additional comment on the strike’s status.
The film is written and directed by Kyle Rankin, who reunites with the Daily Wire and Bonfire Legend after the 2020 actioner “Run Hide Fight.” The film, which starred Isabel May and Thomas Jane, premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Details about the untitled action movie are largely being kept under wraps, but an early logline hinted toward the plot: “When threats strike the heart of the homeland, American warriors rise with unbreakable grit and unrelenting firepower to defend what makes this country worth fighting for.”
Majors stars in the project after his skyrocketing career — with standout roles in “Creed III,” “Lovecraft Country,” Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and the “Loki” series — stalled following a 2023 domestic assault conviction. In the wake of the controversy, the actor was fired from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and lost major parts in movies like a pseudo-biopic in which he’d portray basketball legend Dennis Rodman.
In recent months, Majors has staged his comeback, returning to theaters with the tense bodybuilding drama “Magazine Dreams,” which had received rave reviews in its Sundance debut. He is also set to appear in Martin Villeneuve’s thriller “Merciless.”
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