Perhaps as a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit, The Batman (starring Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight himself) has officially finished its production precisely one year after the COVID-19 lockdowns began. Director Matt Reeves took to Twitter to celebrate the occasion, as did surely a great many excited fans.
On Saturday, Reeves tweeted out a very short and very to the point post commemorating the end of filming, consisting entirely of hashtags and a shoutout to the film's director of photography Greig Fraser. Later in the same day, he retweeted Jeffrey Wright, who had also posted his own little tribute to the milestone. Wright, who plays Gotham City Police Commissioner and Batman's long-time ally in the comics Jim Gordon, affectionately shared some fan art of his character (crediting the artist, as one should always do) while pointing out the significance of finishing exactly a year after the shutdown started.
The Batman has had its share of hardships over the past year, especially from such setbacks as Pattinson testing positive for COVID-19 before safely returning in September. So finally reaching this point is probably a great relief to everyone involved who likely lived in constant fear of yet another production shutdown. Of course, that isn't to say the entire film is completely finished, but the part that can't be done with everyone working from home is all done, and that's what counts.
The Batman is easily one of the most highly anticipated films right now, whether from excitement or curiosity on the audiences' part. Starring big names alongside Pattinson and Wright like Colin Farrell, Zoë Kravitz, John Turturro, Paul Dano, and even Andy Serkis, the lack of plot details released haven't seemed to tempter expectations much at all. Based on trailers and the look of Batman's muscle car-style Batmobile, though, it certainly seems like it will be a bit more brutal than some might have expected.
Anticipation for The Batman has been through the roof ever since its announcement. Some might be skeptical on the idea of yet another take on the caped crusader so soon when even Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises released less than a decade ago, but there's no unstoppable object to challenge the immovable force of Hollywood, it seems. It's even already spawned a TV spinoff centered on the Gotham Police Department, so it's probably best not to think about it. Besides, after the year the world has had, and is technically still having, maybe something with a lot of punching is just what the doctor ordered. The fact that the delivery method is another Batman movie is just details.
Audiences still have a full year to wait before they can finally experience The Batman, so while the end of production is great news for everyone involved, there's still a way to go. Hopefully, post-production goes even more smoothly and everyone can finish up and make this the movie Hollywood needs right now.
Source: Deadline