diff --git a/filament/src/RenderPass.cpp b/filament/src/RenderPass.cpp
index d5063043f5..5282fb32ca 100644
--- a/filament/src/RenderPass.cpp
+++ b/filament/src/RenderPass.cpp
@@ -99,6 +99,10 @@ RenderPass::RenderPass(FEngine& engine, RenderPassBuilder const& builder) noexce
           mScissorViewport(builder.mScissorViewport),
           mCustomCommands(engine.getPerRenderPassArena()) {
 
+    if (mVisibleRenderables.empty()) {
+        return;
+    }
+
     // compute the number of commands we need
     updateSummedPrimitiveCounts(
             const_cast<FScene::RenderableSoa&>(mRenderableSoa), mVisibleRenderables);