Netflix production halted after tragedy kills two actors

Baja California, Mexico - Two actors working on the upcoming Netflix series The Chosen One were killed and six other people were injured when the van they were riding crashed in Mexico on Thursday.

Raymundo Garduño Cruz was killed when the van he was in reportedly ran off the road and flipped.
Raymundo Garduño Cruz was killed when the van he was in reportedly ran off the road and flipped.  © Collage: 123RF/monticello & screenshot/Instagram/raygarduno12

The Baja California Department of Culture released the name of the two actors: Raymundo Garduño Cruz and Juan Francisco González Aguilar. The six others who were hurt are believed to be cast and crew members. They are said to be in stable condition.

The tragic accident happened as the van reportedly ran off the road and then flipped, in a desert area near the city of Mulege on the Baja California Sur peninsula, according to local media reports.

A source close to the production told Variety that the group was going from the city of Santa Rosalia to the local airport.

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As news of the deaths of Cruz and Aguilar broke, filmmaker and author Rick Zazueta wrote a scathing Facebook post, blasting the conditions on set and claiming actors were routinely "transported like cattle" by "tired and over-exploited drivers."

Mexican actor and director Fernando Bonilla grieved his friend Cruz in a Twitter thread. He also claimed he had received information that the driver's toxicology report had come out negative.

"It seems that he avoided a pothole and lost control of the truck," Bonilla wrote.

Adaption of American Jesus comic book put on hold

The series is based on the comic book series American Jesus by writer Mark Millar and artist Peter Gross. It features a 12-year-old boy who learns he is the returned Jesus Christ, destined to save humankind, according to a Netflix description.

Filming on the show, which had previously been titled American Jesus, started in Mexico in April.

Redrum, the company running the filming, has temporarily paused production, Deadline reported on Saturday.

Cover photo: Collage: 123RF/monticello & screenshot/Instagram/raygarduno12

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