Warner Bros. has yet to resume filming on London-based movie productions The Batman and Fantastic Beasts 3, despite the UK lifting restrictions. The former was in the midst of shooting when the coronavirus pandemic took a turn for the worse, forcing it to shut-down. And while it was originally scheduled to open in June 2021, WB has since delayed The Batman by four months to accommodate the halt in principal photography. By comparison, Fantastic Beasts 3 was just about to begin filming when the ongoing health crisis prompted WB to push its start date back.

More recently, a handful of countries (including, the Czech Republic and New Zealand) have started to allow movie and TV productions to resume filming, so long as they operate under the new health and safety guidelines in place. That includes the UK, where The Batman was shooting right before everything shut-down and where production on Fantastic Beasts 3 will take place. Even so, WB isn't rushing to get either of them up and going again.

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According to Deadline, The Batman and Fantastic Beasts 3 productions are still on hold for the time being. Meanwhile, WB is hoping to restart filming on The Matrix 4 in July and has reportedly signed the sequel's cast to eight-week extensions in order to keep them onboard. However, it's unclear if the studio has a similar timetable in mind for resuming operations on its other tentpoles.

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Due to the current state of the global health crisis, most film productions aren't expected to resume until July or August at the earliest. That shouldn't be an issue for The Batman either, thanks to its launch date being postponed. WB has yet to do the same for Fantastic Beasts 3, but that's presumably because they're waiting to see how the crisis plays out from here before further altering their release slate. At this point, there's more reason than not for them to be careful about pushing forward with either movie, lest they be hit by a second and even worse delay. Many people in the UK feel their government is lifting the hiatus on movie productions too soon anyway, so the risks arguably outweigh any benefits WB hopes to gain from pressing ahead right now.

There's also the matter of size to consider. Whereas smaller movies and TV shows in the UK should have an easier time responsibly resuming production, the massive scale of The Batman and Fantastic Beasts 3 will make the task of keeping their many cast and crew members safe all the more challenging. That's yet another reason for WB to take its time and better figure out how to get its tentpole productions restarted without putting anyone's health in danger. Thankfully, that's exactly what they appear to be doing so far.

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Source: Deadline

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