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The Batman Hasn't Resumed Production, Despite Reports To the Contrary

Robert Pattinson tested positive for COVID-19 this week, shortly after production had restarted.

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Update: Variety now reports that The Batman has not actually resumed production. "Studio insiders" have denied the Daily Mail report, saying the movie is not yet being filmed again. Construction work is continuing, but Variety says that shooting likely won't continue until the two-week quarantine period has ended. The original story follows.

Production on The Batman has reportedly already resumed after yesterday's report that Robert Pattinson has tested positive for COVID-19. According to the Daily Mail, while Pattinson is self-isolating for at least 14 days, director Matt Reeves "is trying to film as much as he can at the Warner Bros. Studio in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, without his leading man." All crew who did not have direct contact with Pattinson will reportedly return to work as well.

"The behavior of U.K. cast and crew have been exemplary," Lyndsay Duthie, CEO of the Production Guild of Great Britain, told Variety. "Wanting to return to work, everyone has embraced the comprehensive measures required of them and as a result many productions have been back on set and filming safely for weeks already. Where we have seen productions abroad where a cast or crew member has tested positive, precautions have been taken as required to enable them to start filming again as soon as they had the all clear."

Citing a "set insider," The Daily Mail also reports, "Anything that can be shot and does not involve Pattinson will now go ahead… that includes scenes with his body double. The aim is to get as much done as possible before he returns and the hope is that none of the other actors get the virus."

The Batman is still expected to be released on October 1, 2021, with two planned sequels and also a spin-off prequel series for HBO Max. A recent trailer revealed at the DC FanDome virtual convention offered a recent spike of excitement for what will, as of now, be an uncertain lead-up to release.

The Batman is being co-written by director Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield) and Peter Craig (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2). It stars Pattinson (Twilight), Zoë Kravitz (The Lego Batman Movie), and John Turturro (The Big Lebowski).

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