The Batman is shut down again after Robert Pattinson tests positive for COVID-19
The DC Comics movie had only restarted filming again this week.
The Batman has been hit by another COVID-19 production shutdown just days after filming restarted and it's been reported that star Robert Pattinson has tested positive at the Warner Bros studio at Leavesden in Hertfordshire.
“A member of The Batman production has tested positive for COVID-19, and is isolating in accordance with established protocols," Warner Bros said in a statement. "Filming is temporarily paused.”
Vanity Fair has reported that Pattinson tested positive for the coronavirus. His representative hasn't yet responded to requests for an update about his condition.
WarnerMedia Studios & Networks chief Ann Sarnoff was bullish about the shutdown.
“We’re still in the middle of investigating what is the situation. We’re pausing temporarily for now until we have more information, but we have all the protocols set up to do contact tracing and hopefully get back up into production very soon,” she told Deadline.
Filming on the Robert Pattinson-starring movie originally closed down in early March with 25 per cent of the film shot.
Pattinson revealed that he had been sitting out the lockdown with his girlfriend at an apartment in London, while The Batman crew had been constructing sets during August.
Producers of The Batman were anxious about further outbreaks undermining the production schedule, but they must be alarmed that one occurred so soon after the resumption.
The Batman marks Pattinson’s entry into the DC Comics universe and he’s co-starring with Paul Dano as The Riddler, Andy Serkis as buttler Alfred Pennyworth, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone.
According to EW, director Matt Reeves gave more details about Pattinson's take on the superhero at the recent DC FanDome event: "It’s about the early days of him being Batman and he’s very far from being perfect."
He described Bruce Wayne's development as Batman as "a criminological experiment" and trying to change the city's dark side.
"That's when the murders start to happen... and it opens up a whole new world of corruption," he said. "Without being an origin tale, it ends up touching on his origins. It's a detective story, a mystery... it's got, of course, action, and it's incredibly personal for him. He's kind of a growing legend and [criminals] are afraid of him. He's not a symbol of hope yet. One of the things he has to deal with is how he's perceived... What was exciting for me was not doing the origin [story] but to meet him in the middle and to see him make mistakes and grow and fail and be heroic in a way that felt very human and very flawed."
The Batman has been rescheduled for release in October, 2021.
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