A crew member working on “Indiana Jones 5” was found dead on location in Morocco.
The New York Post reported that Nic Cupac, a camera department pro, was found dead in his hotel room.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Nic Cupac, an incredibly talented colleague and member of the film community who will be greatly missed,” a production rep told the outlet. “His sudden passing was not production related. Nic was a grip on 2nd unit.”
The Sun reported that while an official cause of death has not been released, it is believed that the 54-year-old died of natural causes.
From the Post:
Cupac — an industry veteran who also worked on films in the “Jurassic Park,” “Harry Potter” and “Star Wars” franchises — only recently jetted to Morocco to help film the big-budget blockbuster.
More than 100 crew members had reportedly assembled in the city to prepare for the filming of a major stunt scene using a rickshaw. Cupac’s work as a grip involved helping build and maintain rigging equipment that supports cameras.
“Indiana Jones 5” has been plagued with production problems beginning in June. At the time, the Post reported that residents of Hackney, East London, said filming was making their lives “a living hell.” One resident was paid $75,000 to use their home for filming. That resident left town, but the streets were blocked for days and other residents weren’t paid for what they endured for four days, which included a loss of 100 parking spaces, 6-foot fences installed around the set, and stage lights that kept the street lit up until midnight each night.
“A single homeowner has made a mint and the rest of us are left facing the disturbance,” one resident told the Sun. “It’s a joke… They closed the road so it caused a lot of disruption. Some people were outside arguing over spaces… I could hear angry voices and lots of cars driving around. People should at least be compensated.”
Also in June, veteran actor Harrison Ford was injured while rehearsing a fight scene, The Daily Wire reported.
“In the course of rehearsing for a fight scene, Harrison Ford sustained an injury involving his shoulder,” Disney said in a statement to Deadline. The injury ended up being worse than originally thought, halting production for three months while Ford recovered.
Last week, filming was also made uncertain when Morocco decided to ban flights to and from the United Kingdom due to concerns over COVID-19. Before all of this, the pandemic made filming difficult, the Post reported.
“The movie was originally slated to hit theaters on July 9, 2021, but was pushed back to July 29, 2022, due to the pandemic. Last month, Disney announced it is now scheduled for release in summer 2023,” the outlet reported.
In May 2019, Ford was asked who he thought should play Indiana Jones next, to which he responded:
Nobody! Don’t you get it? I’m Indiana Jones. When I’m gone, he’s gone. It’s easy.