One of the highest-profile projects that has found its production halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic is Warner Bros.’ upcoming superhero film, “The Batman.” Well into filming, the Matt Reeves-directed feature has found itself taking an extended hiatus, leaving the filmmaker a bit of time to tinker.
Speaking to Deadline, Reeves talked about what the downtime means for his superhero film and why he’s probably not working on the things you may think he would, given the extended nature of the production suspension. Unfortunately, because the film was only roughly 25% shot, there’s not much that can be done with post-production, according to the filmmaker.
“We’re not officially editing right now,” said Reeves. “We’ve actually shot a quarter of the movie and I have been pouring through dailies, looking at takes, and what’s to come.”
For those wondering if Reeves would take the time to tweak any aspects of the film’s story, that’s not on the agenda. In fact, the story is something that has already been painstakingly thought-out and doesn’t need any more development.
“It took me two years to work on that story, and it’s a very specific mystery noir that’s been really thought-out by me and my partners,” revealed the filmmaker.
So, while the actual story and beats probably won’t be changed at all during this unplanned downtime, Reeves does say that he’s able to rethink one aspect of what he’s been shooting and what’s to come—the tone.
“It happens any time you shoot anything,” he said. “The unexpected — happy accidents and things you didn’t quite expect: That is the lightning in a bottle for something that is alive. I would say that the changes really have to do with ‘Oh, seeing the tone of this’ with these scenes we haven’t done which connect to that part of the storyline. It feels like there might be an opportunity to explore some of that unexpected tone that we found.”
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Reeves continued, “With these movies, you never have enough prep time, because they’re so complex and so enormous in so many ways. It also gives me a moment to think about the larger sequences that have yet to come up and how I want to realize those”
With no restart date known at this time, it’s unclear when production will begin again on “The Batman,” and thus, no way of knowing how much of a delay will be caused by the pandemic. However, if reports are to be believed, “The Batman” likely won’t be able to make its June 2021 release date. But we shall see.
