The film industry is in some dire straits as the coronavirus has basically shut down all production and theatrical releases. That’s meant a host of films have had to stop work and the latest to be confirmed is Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which will bring Robert Pattinson into the role as the franchise is rebooted yet again. The movie was already believed to be on hold, but Reeves broke the official news over Twitter:
Yes, we have shut down till it is safe for us all to resume… Everyone safe for the moment, thank you for asking, and stay safe too… https://t.co/wDhlYtphlm
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) March 25, 2020
The Batman filming was occurring at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England, and Glasgow Cathedral, in Glasgow, Scotland when activities were suspended. The U.K. has been shutting down systematically over the past few weeks, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that The Batman is unable to continue. The movie is now likely to be delayed alongside a host of other movies WB has already put off, including Wonder Woman 1984 and The Matrix 4. The studio, like every other one, will have to make some tough decisions about its release schedule in the future.
It’s not all bad news, however. On the other side of the superhero pond, Marvel is moving ahead with pre-production on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and still plans to begin shooting for the film in June. The film’s production team has been working from home on the movie and, barring the coronavirus continuing to be an issue, will film as expected. It’s not all good news for the MCU either, though. We’ve known for a while now that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is on hold.
You can keep up to date with the biggest release and production delays here at The Escapist.
