The Batman Filming Remains On Hold As Cast & Crew Quarantine

All filming on The Batman remains on hold as the film's cast and crew begin a period of self-isolation. The highly anticipated DC film experienced a major setback earlier this year when it – like so many other Hollywood projects – was forced by the coronavirus outbreak to shut down production back in March. Thankfully, that interruption didn't stop Warner Bros. and The Batman's director, Matt Reeves, from releasing the promising first teaser trailer for The Batman during DC FanDome. The trailer was immensely well-received by both DC fans and critics alike. The generally positive reactions to it seemed like a perfect morale boost for everyone involved in The Batman as they looked to start filming again under new COVID-19 guidelines.

Production on The Batman started back up again earlier this week, but unfortunately, it didn't take long for the film to experience yet another issue. Just three days after resuming filming, one of The Batman's team members tested positive for COVID-19, and production was forced to shut down once again. To make matters even worse, it was later confirmed it was none other than Robert Pattinson who had tested positive for COVID-19. With the film's leading man forced to begin self-isolating, the future of filming on The Batman seemed uncertain.

Despite some reports of the film resuming production without Pattinson, Variety confirmed today all filming on The Batman is on hold for the time being. Insiders say some of the film's crew members will continue building sets and props at the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, but anyone in the production who had contact with Pattinson is now self-isolating. It is said to be unlikely that any filming will be done again until the mandatory 14-day period of quarantining is complete.

While The Batman remaining shut down doesn't come as much of a surprise, it is reassuring to see Warner Bros. making the most responsible decision at this time for everyone involved in the production. The COVID-19 outbreak has rocked every industry in the world this year, and seeing Hollywood adapt to the situation has been an interesting experience. After months of little to no progress on many in-development titles, the industry has only just recently begun embarking in real earnest on restarting productions again. As a result, multiple prominent films and TV shows, The Batman included, have either already started filming again or are about to.

Although the TV and movie studios all seem to be taking as many precautions as they can while filming their projects, it has always been possible – given the nature of the COVID-19 virus – that something like Pattinson's diagnosis would happen. In the case of The Batman, it's a particularly frustrating development, given just how recently its production had started up again. Other active TV and film productions are likely watching this situation closely, waiting to see how it is handled in the weeks to come. For now, the only thing to do is hope Pattinson emerges from his self-isolation healthy and that the rest of production on The Batman is as safe as possible for all involved.

More: How The Batman Is Learning From The DCEU's Early Mistakes

Source: Variety