‘The Batman’ ain’t shooting on location anymore when filming resumes. Built sets! This fucking sucks, dudes.
The Batman will eventually resume shooting. And when it does, it’ll be filming on built sets. Fuck me. Ain’t no replacement for filming on location, friends. But, welcome to 2020. Fucking sucks.
Screen Rant:
When production on The Batman starts again, it will no longer shoot on location and will instead switch to newly built sets. Matt Reeves is directing the latest Batman-centered film, which will also mark the first appearance of Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne. With The Batman not scheduled to arrive in theaters until 2021, production on the film began earlier this year in London. Fans were able to catch glimpses of Pattinson and others on set, fueling their excitement for the mysterious project. However, The Batman was only a quarter of the way into filming when things were shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Initially, The Batman was only scheduled to be shut down for two weeks, but that soon changed as the situation with the outbreak grew worse. Since then, Warner Bros. has kept The Batman on hold and even delayed the film’s release date to October 2021. In recent weeks, various film and television productions that had been affected by the pandemic have shown signs of resuming work, and it seemed likely that The Batman could be among them when the U.K. announced its brand new coronavirus guidelines. Up until now, though, there haven’t been many updates.
According to Kris Tapley, the host of Netflix’s The Call Sheet podcast, The Batman is aiming to resume work in September. However, they will not be shooting out on location, as Tapley said, “All locations scrapped.” Instead, the crew is building all their necessary sets within the studio. Tapley didn’t elaborate further, but it’s likely that this change is because of the pandemic.
By controlling their locations, the cast and crew of The Batman can prevent any potential exposure to the virus that could have come from being out in a public space. While this is disappointing for fans who might’ve wanted to catch a glimpse of The Batman more than a year before its release, it makes sense as a precaution for avoiding further delays. Additionally, it’ll be interesting to see how this affects the look of The Batman. It might not have the same grounded feel that a real location could provide, but this also gives the opportunity for some really excellent set designs.
The Batman is easily one of the most anticipated DC projects, largely thanks to the teases Reeves has provided about the story and Pattinson’s performance as Batman. There was some apprehension when Pattinson was first cast, but now the majority of fans are excited to see what he will do with the iconic character. Plus, with last week’s news that Reeves is developing a spin-off television series centered on the Gotham P.D., there’s even more interest in The Batman. With production starting again in September, hopefully fans and those involved with the film won’t have to face any additional delays.