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Robert Pattinson tests positive for coronavirus, pausing The Batman filming

Production of The Batman has reportedly been put on hold after actor Robert Pattinson tested positive for the coronavirus. 

Vanity Fair reports that the movie’s production was paused only days after starting up again from the initial coronavirus shutdowns back in March. 

The Batman is scheduled to be released on October 1, 2021, after being pushed back from its original release of June 25, 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Director Matt Reeves previously indicated that filming was one-quarter completed when the crew initially went on hiatus earlier this year.

“A member of The Batman production has tested positive for Covid-19, and is isolating in accordance with established protocols. Filming is temporarily paused,” a Warner Bros. Pictures spokesperson told Vanity Fair.

The spokesperson told Digital Trends they had no further comment on the matter.

Pattinson plays Bruce Wayne in the upcoming film directed by Reeves. The Batman also features a star-studded cast of Colin Farrell, Jeremy Irons, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright.

The highly anticipated film will be the character’s first solo big-screen feature since the final film in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Night trilogy. Reeves has described the story of The Batman as “noir-driven” with Batman “investigating a particular case that takes us out into the world of Gotham.”

Aside from Reeve’s take on Bruce Wayne, Ben Affleck is set to return as the character in the upcoming film, The Flash. While not a Batman-focused film itself, The Flash will center on the lightening-fast hero, Barry Allen, which will be played by Ezra Miller. Affleck’s portrayal as Batman will reportedly aid the Flash’s own storyline. That movie is set to debut June 2022. 

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Allison Matyus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
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