Jamie Christopher, the veteran first assistant director whose work on numerous Marvel movies like the recent “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” along with “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” died on Tuesday from heart complications in Los Angeles. He was 52.
Rian Johnson, who first worked with Christopher on “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” said in a statement posted to his Instagram account that Christopher was “truly one of the greats, and this is a heartbreaking loss for everyone who was lucky enough to work with him.”
Over the course of his nearly thirty-year career, Christopher established himself as a top AD and worked with directors such as David Yates, James Gunn and Johnson, as well as collaborating with Marvel Studio’s Kevin Feige.
“We are incredibly saddened by Jamie’s passing,” Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito said in a joint statement. “He has been a part of the Marvel Studios team for over a decade, and on productions like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ ‘Black Widow’ and more, he was a calm presence behind the camera and a wonderful, supportive crewmember on set.
They added: “Jamie first joined Marvel Studios as an AD on ‘Thor: The Dark World,’ and because of his hard work and diligence was upped to an executive producer on ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ and the upcoming ‘Fantastic Four.’ Jamie was a beloved member of our Marvel Studios family, and he will be dearly missed.”
Christopher started his career in 1992 as a third assistant director on David Fincher’s “Alien 3.” By 1997, he had risen to the role of first assistant director for the second unit on Luc Besson’s sci-fi cult classic, “The Fifth Element,” featuring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich. Two years later, Christopher joined Stephen Sommers as a second assistant director for “The Mummy.”
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.