The Batman Star Feels “Absolutely Safe” Shooting the DC Movie During Pandemic

The Batman star Jayme Lawson reports the pandemic-proofed set of the DC Films production is “absolutely safe” as filming continues during the era of COVID-19, which shut down the Matt Reeves-directed film in March. Following on-and-off shooting starts — including an early September shutdown in response to lead actor Robert Pattinson‘s positive COVID test — work resumed at Leavesden Studios, with Batman utilizing Industrial Light & Magic’s virtual production technology from The Mandalorian in select scenes. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for Farewell Amor, her first feature film, Lawson opens up about filming The Batman with protocols supervised by producer Dylan Clark:

“What’s interesting is we didn’t get much done before Covid hit. And so, from when I was there, the feeling on that set was far from sterile, in my experience. So it’s not going to be the same kind of intimacy that you get on Farewell Amor,” Lawson said. “But just by nature of the story, what the storyline requires, and the nature in which everything is conducted, there was still a sense of familiarity on that set, whether you knew people for years or were just showing up. Now, during Covid, it’s just hard to have that kind of intimacy on a set right now, and you can feel everybody wanting to.”

She continued, “When I went back out in October and I saw the crew, I almost cried because I hadn’t seen these faces in so long. Everybody wants to hug and touch and talk, but we’re on a tight schedule and we can’t because of protocols. But the feeling is still there and the desire is still there.”

Asked if she feels as safe as possible on The Batman, Lawson answered, “100 percent. I remember talking with Dylan Clark over the summer; I’d ask him questions and he’d keep me up to date with the protocols. So they’ve been very forthcoming and open about making sure that we feel safe and have whatever we need, at any moment. So I feel absolutely safe being on set for that production.”

Lawson plays mayoral candidate Bella Real, a character she says is “running up against the big dogs” in crime-infested Gotham City. Plot details remain firmly under wraps, but the film’s first trailer shows a Bruce Wayne (Pattinson) in his second year as a costumed crime-fighter going up against the enigmatic serial killer we know as the Riddler (Paul Dano).

Also starring Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Barry Keoghan, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell, The Batman opens in theaters on March 4, 2022.