The Batman Crew Member Teases “Phenomenal” Robert Pattinson Movie

The Devil Below, a new film from Chernobyl Diaries director Bradley Parker, is out now in select theaters as well as on VOD platforms. Parker is making the press rounds in support of his new film, and the visual effects veteran is, perhaps unsurprisingly, also fielding some questions about a side project he spent some time on — Matt Reeves‘s The Batman, which reinvents the Dark Knight as a younger and less experienced hero than what recent DC films had presented with Ben Affleck — but also one who’s got a handle on his detective skillset in a way rarely depicted in his live-action adventures.

Parker served as a second unit director on the film, which is to say that he served as director of a group of filmmakers who shoot in tandem with Reeves’s “first” unit in order to cut down on production time. Typically, second units focus on things that don’t require the principal cast to be on hand (so, for instance, those early set photo leaks with Batman’s stunt performer may well have been directed by Parker).

“I’ve finished filming on that. I directed the Chicago second unit. It was an absolute blast,” Parker told Comic Book Movie. “Again, it’s playing in a much, much bigger sandbox than The Devil Below, but a lot of the same techniques and ideas apply. I love doing both giant movies and little movies. They’re all fun, but I’ve always loved working with Matt Reeves, and that’s another project, like Loki, which is going to be incredible. They’re both phenomenal projects.”

The reference to Loki, the Marvel Cinematic Universe-set series that will debut later this year on Disney+, is because Parker is the series’ visual effects supervisor, a role he has filled on previous projects like Let Me In, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story, and Ad Astra.

It’s also arguably not surprising that Parker has already wrapped his work on Reeve’s Bat-movie, since reports in February suggested that this month would see the project finally wrap. It was, of course, delayed mid-production by work stoppages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then further delayed when it returned to production and star Robert Pattinson almost immediately tested positive for the virus.

Pattinson stars as the titular Dark Knight in the new movie which also includes Paul Dano as The Riddler; Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman; Colin Farrell as The Penguin; John Turturro as Carmine Falcone; Jeffrey Wright as the GCPD’s James Gordon; Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Jayme Lawson as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; and Andy Serkis as Alfred.

The Batman is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on March 4, 2022, putting it outside the window of WB’s current plan of releasing films in theaters and on HBO Max on the same date.