#The Batman Pauses Production After Crew Member Tests Positive for Coronavirus

The Batman has had to pause filming once again. A crew member working on the movie has tested positive for coronavirus. The member of the crew has not been identified but this will result in further delays for director Matt Reeves’ upcoming DC Comics adaptation, which stars Robert Pattinson as the iconic hero. It also raises possible safety concerns moving forward. A Warner Bros. spokesperson had this to say about it in a statement.

“A member of ‘The Batman’ production has tested positive for Covid-19 and is isolating in accordance with established protocols. Filming is temporarily paused.”

Filming originally kicked off earlier this year. After the production was just seven weeks into what is expected to be a massive and lengthy shoot, Warner Bros. had to shut it down in March due to public health concerns. The movie is shooting in the U.K. After months of waiting, filming was finally able to resume, as has been the case with several major blockbusters in recent weeks. Jurassic World: Dominion was the first to get back underway, with The Matrix 4 also getting back up and running recently.

Any production looking to begin filming again must follow a strict set of health and safety guidelines in order to do so. This involves, in many cases, smaller crews, masks on set, testing and a period of isolation to ensure nobody is contagious before filming, among other precautions. No matter how seriously a studio and the filmmakers take these new measures it is impossible to get the level or risk down to zero at a time like this. As such, it will make finishing The Batman, and other movies that are half-finished, quite difficult. It is expected that Matt Reeves has three months of shooting left before heading into post-production.

Despite only filming a small chunk of the movie so far, Warner Bros. and Matt Reeves were able to bring a fully-assembled The Batman trailer to DC FanDome last month. The trailer, which promises Robert Pattinson’s debut as our new Dark Knight will be a gritty one, was received with much positivity online. Several villains will be involved, with Paul Dano’s Riddler leading the way. We also got a look at Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman and a rather shocking glimpse at Colin Farrell’s Penguin. John Turturro will also appear as Carmine Falcone. Plot details remain largely under wraps but Reeves has promised a noir-influenced detective story in the past. It will take place during Bruce Wayne’s second year of fighting crime in Gotham City.

The rest of the cast includes Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson and newcomer Jamie Lawson as Bella Real. The studio is reportedly hoping to finish filming by the end of the year. It is not clear at this time how long filming will be paused for. The Batman is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on October 1, 2021. We will be sure to keep you posted as any further updates are provided. This news was previously reported by Variety.

Topics: The Batman, Batman