Deadpool 2 star Zazie Beetz opens up about stuntwoman's death on set of Marvel film

Actor Zazie Beetz has opened up about the death of a stuntwoman on the sets of her upcoming film Deadpool 2.

Stuntwoman Joi ‘SJ’ Harris was killed in a motorcycle crash on 15 August on the Vancouver set of the movie, starring actor Ryan Reynolds in the lead.

Harris was doubling for Beetz, who is playing the mutant mercenary Domino in the film. It was later discovered that she had never worked as a stuntwoman before signing on for the project.

“It was her first day on set and nobody really knows what happened. People were very, very affected by it — especially the stunt team, whom I’d worked a lot with. They were very upset by it because they want to protect the people that they’re working with.

And in this case, that didn’t happen. It was a really sad time,” Beetz told Entertainment Weekly.

Beetz said though she had never met Harris, but felt a certain connection to her and admired her work as a road racer.

“I felt like she was part of the Domino team and story. I hope people continue to remember her as someone who really pushed a lot of boundaries - being the first black woman to be professionally engaged in motorcycle racing. I hope that’s her legacy,” Beetz said.

Deadpool 2, which also stars Josh Brolin, TJ Miller, Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapacic and Leslie Uggams, will hit theatres on 18 May this year.