The Batman director Matt Reeves commented on the production shutdown caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Production on Matt Reeves’ The Batman official started in February in the United Kingdom with a release date scheduled for June 2021. Unfortunately, the film was one of the many projects forced to suspend production in order to protect its cast and crew members from being exposed to or unintentionally spreading the highly-contagious coronavirus.
While production on The Batman was initially suspended for two weeks, the severity of the pandemic prompted Warner Bros. to delay filming indefinitely and there is currently no official word on how this crisis might affect the scheduled release date. During an interview with The New York Times, Matt Reeves opened up about the decision to shut down production and expressed his heartbreak over the death of The Batman dialect coach Andrew Jack, who passed away due to complications he developed from the coronavirus:
“The whole thing is quite surreal. As much as we wanted to proceed, we wanted to make sure we were safe. We didn’t want anyone on our crew to get sick. But there was a crew member who actually got it, an incredible dialect coach named Andrew Jack, and he passed away. We were all in utter shock and heartbroken. It’s been weeks since we shut down, so I don’t think it was passed among the crew. But it’s very, very upsetting.”
One the topic of when The Batman might resume production, Matt Reeves simply stated that they will return when the “time is right.” However, Reeves added that at this point he isn’t asking himself why they aren’t filming, but is instead reminding himself there are more important issues at this time:
“Of course, [I want] to come back when the time is right. I’ve worked on a few things where, for various reasons, you have to stop for a moment — a cast member gets sick, and you have to shut down for a week. You can take stock of what you’ve done and prepare for what’s coming. I don’t think it’s a moment where I’m going, “Why aren’t we shooting?” I’m thinking, “There are bigger things.”
Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news on The Batman and when production might resume.
Full plot details on The Batman are currently under wraps, though the film will center around a younger Bruce Wayne and feature a Rogues’ Gallery of villains that includes Catwoman, The Penguin, and The Riddler. The Matt Reeves film will follow the Caped Crusader during his formative years as Gotham City’s protector and will make use of the Dark Knight’s detective skills to a greater extent than previous DC films. It is expected to be the first chapter in a new trilogy with Robert Pattinson as Batman.
Directed by Matt Reeves from a script he co-wrote with Mattson Tomlin, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson, Jayme Lawson as Bella Reál, with Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell as the Penguin.
The Batman is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on June 25, 2021.
Source: The New York Times
