The Batman just recently restarted production, but it's already halting filming — reportedly after its star tested positive for COVID-19.
Warner Bros. on Thursday confirmed that filming on the superhero movie, which stars Robert Pattinson and is scheduled for release in 2021, has been "temporarily paused" after a member of the production tested positive for the coronavirus, per Variety. While the studio didn't disclose further information, Vanity Fair subsequently reported that it was Pattinson who tested positive.
Pattinson's reported coronavirus diagnosis was not confirmed by Warner Bros. or his representative. This, Vanity Fair notes, comes only a few days after The Batman resumed production in the United Kingdom. Work on the film was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Batman is one of a number of high-profile films to have resumed filming outside of the United States during the pandemic. Another is Universal's Jurassic World: Dominion, which previously restarted production in the United Kingdom with extensive coronavirus precautions. Last month, The New York Times reported that four crew members on Jurassic World tested positive for COVID-19 in Britain since early July, and "of the crew members who were sent to Malta" ahead of production moving there, "four tested positive."
The Batman had about "three months of material left to shoot" when filming was halted in March, Variety previously reported. The film is scheduled to hit theaters in Oct. 2021 after its release date was delayed four months earlier this year. Brendan Morrow
Update: This story and headline have been updated to reflect subsequent reporting that Pattinson was the member of The Batman's crew who tested positive for COVID-19.