Positive COVID-19 Test Grounds Netflix's The Harder They Fall Original

Though the television and movie industries are slowly getting back to work after months of suspended and disrupted production, the pandemic is still causing issues and delays. The latest example is work on Netflix's original western The Harder They Fall, which had to halt production after one of the actors tested positive for COVID-19.

The upcoming movie stars Idris Elba as a man who is looking to get revenge against the person who murdered his parents — a story that will play out in the western genre. Work on the movie was previously paused so that health safety measures could be put into place. In late September, a local news report from New Mexico where the film is shot revealed that production had resumed with the start of principal photography.

Now, less than a month later, Deadline reports that one of the actors on the project tested positive for the novel coronavirus behind COVID-19, grounding the production once again. Production is said to have stopped this past Thursday with no clear indication of when it will resume.

Starring actor Elba has already contracted and recovered from COVID-19; it's unclear which actor has tested positive this time around. Many productions have taken steps to reduce how far a potential infection can spread through cast and crew by isolating different departments and limiting which individuals interact with others.

However, having a major actor in the series fall ill may disrupt production for multiple weeks — or it is possible that work will resume, but focused on other aspects of the production that don't involve the sick individual. At this point in time, The Harder They Fall is still scheduled to debut on Netflix sometime next year.