Two actors from an upcoming Netflix series about the return of Jesus were killed and six more injured after their van crashed on a desert road in Mexico.
The van carrying cast and crew from “The Chosen One” ran off the road and flipped near Mulege on the Baja California Sur peninsula Thursday, officials said. Raymundo Garduno Cruz and Juan Francisco Gonzalez Aguilar died in the accident, the Baja California Department of Culture in Mexico told The Associated Press.
The cast and crew were filming in nearby Santa Rosalia along the Gulf of California, and the van was headed from the set to a local airport, according to Variety. The six injured include two other actors and four members of the crew, all of whom were in stable condition, according to reports.
Car Crash Leaves Two Dead, Six Injured From Cast and Crew of Netflix’s ‘The Chosen One’ https://t.co/CTJ704Op8r
— Variety (@Variety) June 18, 2022
Production was paused on the series, which is about a 12-year-old boy who learns he’s the returned Jesus Christ and destined to save humankind. It is based on a comic book series by Mark Millar and Peter Gross, who created the comic book series “American Jesus.” Filming had begun in April. It is unclear when or if filming will resume.
The series is the latest project from the holdings of comic book company Millarworld, which Netflix acquired in late 2017. Millar and Gross released their first television project, “Jupiter’s Legacy,” in 2021.
The series is not to be confused with another Netflix series of the same name which aired mainly in Brazil and was about three young doctors who travel to a remote village to vaccinate their residents against a new mutation of the Zika virus.
Neither Netflix not Redrum, the series’ producer, commented publicly following the tragic accident.
After the deadly crash, several members of the local film industry denounced Netflix, charging the company uses small production companies to bypass local crew and unions. Baja California filmmaker Rick Zazueta blamed the production team for the tragedy in a Facebook post, claiming they put people at risk by cutting corners. But it was not clear how the company’s choice of production company could have led to a car accident, and an investigation into what caused the crash was ongoing.