“When will THE BATMAN start filming again?”
That’s the biggest and an important question that has been up in the air ever since production shut down on the film nearly two and a half months ago. Even one of the film’s stars — Zoe Kravitz who plays Selina Kyle/Catwoman in THE BATMAN — recently said she’s not sure when filming will start back up.
Originally, filming was supposed to stop for two weeks, but due to the COVID-9 pandemic, the hiatus has last well beyond that. As a result, THE BATMAN‘s release date was pushed back from its original Summer release of June 25, 2021, to an October 1, 2021 Fall bow.
However, it’s starting to look like director Matt Reeves and Warner Bros. might soon be able to call the gang back to the set and get back to work.
Via DEADLINE, about a week and a half ago, the UK government OK’ed film and TV production to resume. There are still numerous issues to deal with however, including insurance, and specifically, how to implement COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
According to the UK company ScreenSkills, they are leading the coronavirus safety training initiative, and say it will commence “within weeks.” ScreenSkills is partnering with Skills for Health, the established safety consultants to the entertainment industry. The goal is to ensure everyone returning to work on a production has access to basic health and safety understanding of filming in the post-pandemic world, with training delivered online for free. More in-depth training is also being developed for those with departmental or management responsibility.
Seetha Kumar, ScreenSkills’ chief executive, said, “As the leader in skills and training for the UK’s screen industries, we are already working closely with colleagues to support the return to production by identifying standards and delivering training to reflect all the new challenges Covid-19 has created. Ensuring crew can work as safely as possible is the overriding aim of the industry, and we believe the new guidance, backed up by the training, can enable that.”
In another DEADLINE report, the trade lists the safety protocols that will be put into place that will allow big-budget productions like THE BATMAN to bring their cast and crew back to work safely.
BOF has been told by a few sources in the UK with film/TV ties that it’s possible that THE BATMAN can return to production later in the Summer with a late July to early September window (maybe even mid-June). If so, THE BATMAN‘s release date of 10/1/21 can stay put and fans like you and me can get back to following the film’s production — which is almost as fun as seeing the movie when it’s released. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
