Jonathan Majors career resurgence has taken a dangerous turn after he fell out of a window while filming, escalating the IATSE crew strike over safety issues. Just as he began filming his first feature since his 2023 assault conviction, a partnership with the conservative media production company The Daily Wire, the set has been impacted by a walk-off from crew members and a chilling on-set accident.
While the film, a sequel to the 2020 thriller “Run Hide Fight” titled “Run Hide Fight Infidels,” was intended to be a new start for the embattled actor, it has instead become a pool of labor disputes and safety allegations that threaten to shut down the project entirely.
The primary catalyst for the current turmoil occurred during a high-stakes stunt on the film’s South Carolina set. According to Deadline, Majors and his co-star JC Kilcoyne accidentally tumbled through a window during a scene. The accident was reportedly caused by a serious lapse in safety protocols, as the window had been replaced with an unsecured sheet of tempered glass meant to be shattered in a later stunt. Because the glass was sitting loosely in the frame, it gave way when the actors moved near it, sending both men falling approximately six feet to the ground.
Deadline reported that Kilcoyne required stitches all over his hands following the fall, but reps for Majors have remained silent on the extent of his injuries. The production’s response to the incident was what truly alarmed the crew, with one laborer noting that upon arriving to reset the scene, there was a strange silence regarding the fall and a lack of transparency that suggested a desire to brush the incident under the rug.
Daily Wire Production Incident Involving Jonathan Majors Causes Strike
This false window incident proved to be the final straw for a crew that had already been raising red flags for five weeks of production. On March 26, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) officially called a strike against the Daily Wire production. While the union initially sought to secure health and pension contributions for its members, the focus quickly shifted to what they describe as hazardous working conditions that put lives at risk.
Beyond the window fall, crew members reported a laundry list of terrifying incidents that painted a picture of a set in total disarray. Reports surfaced of rigged tree branches striking the set medic and a complete lack of safety meetings regarding complex stunts or the use of firearms, which were reportedly airsoft guns.
Film productions that ignored industry safety standards and concerns led to incidents like Alec Baldwin shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring another crew member with a prop gun.
The environment on the Daily Wired set was described as unlike any standard production. One crew member with decades of experience noted that they witnessed no normal production activities, such as the presence of a unit production manager or even an official crew list. The situation became so desperate that workers had to circulate their own unofficial make-shift crew lists just to identify who their colleagues and department heads were.
Furthermore, the production allegedly pushed for the use of a filming location infested with black mold and suspected asbestos, ignoring warnings from contractors about the long-term health effects on the laborers. This perceived negligence fueled the strike, with more than 60% of the crew eventually signing union cards to demand a collective bargaining agreement.
Perhaps most shocking to the industry is the involvement of special effects supervisor Chris Bailey, who previously pleaded guilty to illegal possession of explosives on a movie set, according to Deadline. Despite his criminal record prohibiting him from handling explosive materials, he was tasked with designing pyrotechnics for this film, a move crew members cited as a massive red flag for their personal safety. The response from the film’s producers, including Dallas Sonnier of Bonfire Legend, has been notably defiant. When reached for comment by Deadline regarding the IATSE strike and the safety allegations, the producers simply stated that they “don’t negotiate with communists.”
The Future of Jonathan Majors’ Re-emergence
For Jonathan Majors, this project was supposed to be a return to the gritty, leadership-driven roles that would remind audiences of his talent. Partnering with The Daily Wire came as a shock to many fans and social media users. Seemingly, naysayers may have a point as the actor now finds himself at the center of a production that IATSE is actively discouraging industry professionals from joining due to safety concerns.
As filming reportedly continues with replacement workers in South Carolina, the question remains whether his experiment in independent, right-wing filmmaking is worth his hopeful return to cinema.
