Eric Kripke, creator of The CW’s Supernatural and showrunner for Amazon’s The Boys, has pledged his support for a safer set, and he’s asking others to make the same promise. This announcement follows a tragic accident on the set of Rust, in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot and director Joel Souza was wounded. The incident happened after Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun.
Kripke said on his official Twitter, “Someone hurt or killed on my set is my worst nightmare. Sending love to Halyna Hutchins’ family, @JensenAckles, cast & crew of ‘Rust.’ I’m so sorry. In her memory, a simple, easy pledge: no more guns with blanks on any of my sets ever. We’ll use VFX muzzle flashes. Who’s with me?” Supernatural and The Boys star Jensen Ackles had recently joined the cast of Rust, and previously talked about working with prop guns blanks on the set.
Following Kripke’s pledge, many in the industry have commented in support, including The Boys star Jack Quaid and The Boys VFX supervisor Stephan Szpak-Fleet. Fleet added to the Twitter discussion, saying, “So yeah, just to take it a step further, how about this, I pledge to NOT WORK ON any project that uses live rounds. There’s just no reason, we have the tech, and it’s entertainment, we don’t need real guns for entertainment.” Neil Gaiman also replied in agreement, tagging Douglas Mackinnon, director on Gaiman’s Good Omens.
Someone hurt or killed on my set is my worst nightmare. Sending love to Halyna Hutchins' family, @JensenAckles, cast & crew of "Rust." I'm so sorry. In her memory, a simple, easy pledge: no more guns with blanks on any of my sets ever. We'll use VFX muzzle flashes. Who's with me?
— Eric Kripke (@therealKripke) October 22, 2021
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time a tragedy such as this happened on a film set. One of the most famous incidents was the death of Brandon Lee, the 28-year-old son of Bruce Lee. The actor was struck with a fragment of a bullet which remained in the chamber of a prop gun fired by his co-star. A tweet was published on the official page for Brandon Lee, saying, “Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on ‘Rust’. No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period.”
Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on “Rust”. No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period. 💔
— Brandon Bruce Lee (@brandonblee) October 22, 2021
Let’s hope studios, filmmakers, and crews continue to strive for safer sets.
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