The entertainment industry has come to a screeching halt over the past few months, due to global health concerns. Plenty of film sets were shut down as a result, including Matt Reeves' long gestating blockbuster The Batman. Production was in full force at the time of the halt, which is a bummer to the cast/crew, as well as the fans who have been patiently waiting for the solo flick for years. The movie's release date was recently pushed back, although Reeves has found a silver lining to this unexpected turn of events.
Matt Reeves has been working on The Batman for a number of years, joining the project once Ben Affleck stepped down as director (and eventually star.) The Planet of the Apes director methodically planned his vision for Gotham's Protector, and assembled a killer cast to occupy the infamous comic book city. Reeves recently spoke to the film's delay, and found a small upside to the otherwise dire situation, saying:
There is that thing too, when you get to push pause. I’ve worked on some other movies where, for various reasons, you have a shutdown—whether it’s an actor gets sick and needs time to recover, or actually one time I got sick and needed time to recover. I do find that any time you’re in the midst of something enormous where you can suddenly stop and take a little stock of where you’re at, that can be a creative gift as well. But I think the hardest thing is just that we lost a beloved crew member. That, to me, is something we’re all still dealing with.
It sounds like Matt Reeves has quite a few feelings about The Batman's delay. While acknowledging that it might help his creative vision for the movie, he was sure to acknowledge the crew member that died as a result of the current global health crisis.
Matt Reeves opened up about The Batman's halt in production to The Daily Beast, helping to peel back the curtain on the highly anticipated blockbuster's production. The movie's delay was a disappointing piece of news for the fans, especially considering how long it took for the DC solo flick to finally start filming. Although its possible that The Batman could benefit from this hiatus.
As the filmmaker explained, any temporary halts in filming that he'd previously experienced actually helped Matt Reeves' process as a director. It allows him to step back from his work, and allow for new creative ideas to flow. Although smart money says that The Batman's gap in filming is far longer than anything he'd previously experienced.
The Batman is currently set to arrive in theaters on its new release date on October 1st, 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
