UPDATE: Vanity Fair has been told by multiple high placed sources that the infected production member is none other than Batman himself, Robert Pattinson. Let’s hope that Pattinson recovers quickly and feels better very, very soon. The original story follows below.
Just when filming of The Batman was firing up again, things have come to a sudden halt.
Warner Bros has temporarily shut down production on Matt Reeves’s The Batman after a member of the cast or crew tested positive for COVID-19. WB had no other comment aside from the fact that the team member is quarantined and that filming is “temporarily paused.” No word on when cameras will fire up again.
This slight delay in filming doesn’t mean the film’s release date of October 1, 2021 is compromised. The movie will likely still make its scheduled debut. But, there is a chance — and not a small one — that something like this will happen again. This is the new normal, at least until a proven vaccine is distributed. Many movie productions will be affected by the coronavirus in the coming months. This virus is a long ways away from being under control. So what happens to Hollywood when COVID-19 pops up again and again? How often will we see productions shut down? Will this lead to more delays? Will the industry have to close its doors completely again? Those are all questions we don’t have the answers to.
Let’s hope for the best: this production member recovers quickly and no one else on the set of The Batman gets infected. But let’s also plan for the worst: COVID-19 will find its way into other movie sets in the weeks and months ahead. This virus isn’t done with Hollywood yet.