The Batman Continuing to Film Despite Increased COVID-19 Restrictions in UK

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many film productions have been shut down and restarted multiple times. One such set is Matt Reeves’ The Batman. The movie finally resumed production in the UK, but was halted once again when Robert Pattinson (Batman) tested positive for the virus in early September. The movie resumed production again shortly after, and new set photos are proving they are back on track. According to Deadline, the UK are increasing their restrictions over COVID-19, but The Batman plans to keep going with production.

According to the report, the UK government has put into place a “tiered lockdown system,” and Liverpool, where The Batman is currently filming, is a “Tier 3 city.” That means Liverpool is “subject to the most stringent rules due to its high rate of positive cases.” People are being stopped from socializing and many venues have closed due to these new restrictions. Apparently, local authorities are working with all productions to ensure pandemic safety protocols are being followed on the sets.

“The new restrictions in Liverpool will not impact on filming in the city,” a Liverpool City Council spokesman told Sky News. “The Film Office is working closely with every single production to ensure COVID-safe measures are in place and are being adhered to.”

Pattinson was just one high-profile DC movie celebrity who announced a COVID-19 infection last month, the other being Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who is set to play Black Adam. These coronavirus incidents have continued to raise the debate about whether Hollywood is moving too quickly in its attempt to get the movie industry going again. While film and TV casts and crews are adhering to strict new measures about how to conduct their business – and yet it still seems that containing the novel coronavirus is a difficult (if not impossible) task to achieve with any certainty.

In addition to Pattinson, the movie will also feature Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Colin Farrell as Penguin, Paul Dano as The Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as the GCPD’s James Gordon, Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Jayme Lawson as mayoral candidate Bella Reál, and Andy Serkis as Alfred.

How do you feel about productions continuing to move forward during these uncertain times? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

The Batman has since been delayed from 2021 to 2022. It is now scheduled to be released on March 4, 2022.