Amid COVID-19 concerns, it’s not only spring movie releases that are being shifted around. The shooting schedules of various movies have been delayed as well. Following in the footsteps of Disney suspending all its live-action productions Friday, it has been announced that Matt Reeves’ The Batman will officially be suspending its London production beginning today.
According to an official statement from Warner Bros, Robert Pattinson’s turn as the Dark Knight will stop filming for two weeks, with hopes of returning to shoot starting in the last days of March. The studio also said it will “continue to monitor the situation closely," via THR. In other words, if the coronavirus situation keeps escalating The Batman’s schedule could be delayed further.
Matt Reeves’ take on the Caped Crusader began filming in London back in January with plans to soon move the production to Liverpool. Fans have been following along as the director revealed a first look at Robert Pattinson’s batsuit last month, along with the Batmobile and a brief glimpse of the bat signal.
There have been a series of coronavirus concerns on movie sets already, including on Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Production was delayed in Australia on Friday after the film’s director Destin Daniel Cretton was advised to be tested for COVID-19 by his doctor. Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson recently tested positive for the virus while in Australia to film the Elvis Presley biopic.
It was reported yesterday afternoon that Warner Bros productions including The Batman, The Matrix 4, Fantastic Beasts 3, and King Richard would be proceeding ahead with production. The studio has obviously since changed its tune in light of more cases popping up around the world and U.S. President Donald Trump calling the pandemic an official national emergency.
Following the push of spring releases such as Mulan, the closing of Disney theme parks, Disney also announced The Little Mermaid and six more of their movies would shut down production. The statement said that no confirmed cases were on the productions, but the decision was made at the “best interests” the productions’ cast and crew.
The Batman is one the most highly-anticipated releases of 2021 as Matt Reeves looks to be giving fans a completely new movie about Bruce Wayne. It will take on a more noir tone and feature a slew of Batman’s Rogue Gallery. The movie’s cast features Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Colin Farrell as Penguin, Paul Dano as Riddler, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth and Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham’s district attorney.
It’s too early to tell how extensive this setback will affect The Batman’s production and release date. The DCEU film is set to come to theaters on June 25, 2021.
