Netflix’s ‘Matilda’ Musical Pauses Production After Positive Covid Test

Just one day after Netflix halted production on Bridgerton Season 2, the streamer has been forced to pause another upcoming project. Deadline reports that production on the Matilda musical has been partially shuttered after a positive Covid test on set. The pause marks Netflix’s second shoot in the UK to go on hiatus amid the pandemic.

A source told Deadline that the Matilda production hiatus could last as long as 10 days. While one filming unit was forced to temporarily shut down after the positive test, the second has continued filming.

The upcoming musical, which is based on the West End musical that came after the 1988 Roald Dahl children’s novel, follows a bright young girl who has magical powers. The film will be released in theaters in the UK and Ireland, while Netflix will release Matilda worldwide in December 2022. The production stars Emma Thompson as headmistress Miss Trunchbull, Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey, Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough will play Matilda’s parents, and Sindhu Vee is librarian Mrs. Phelps.

The Matilda production pause comes as the UK is seeing a spike in Covid cases with the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the disease. As of July 18, there were 50,000 positive tests per day in the UK, with health secretary Sajid Javid testing positive despite being fully vaccinated. After exposure to Javid, Prime Minister Boris Johnson began self-isolating.

The highly anticipated second season of Bridgerton shut down production indefinitely after two positive Covid tests on set. The series previously halted filming last week for 24 hours after a crew member tested positive, but was forced to take a longer hiatus with the second positive test result. Netflix has been lauded for its Covid testing process, which Deadline deems “among the best in the business.”

Momita Sengupta, Netflix’s VP of production management for original series, told The Hollywood Reporter in December how the streamer was continuing to create shows and movies during the pandemic. “Once you are on a set — and I can say this about our industry as a whole, not just Netflix — it is a very safe place,” Sengupta said. “It is very structured, you have probably the best PPE that you can get other than being in a hospital with N95s and face shields, you have monitors distancing you, you are being tested.”