Robert Pattinson is back in the cape and cowl after testing positive for COVID-19, which forced The Batman to shut down production. Variety reports that Pattinson has been cleared to return to work after recuperating, and filming on the highly anticipated DC movie is now back in progress. Production on The Batman shut down on September 3rd after Pattinson tested positive for the coronavirus, only shortly after production had kicked back up to begin with. He and all the cast and crew who were in close contact with the actor were all quarantined following the positive test.

Matt Reeves is directing The Batman from a script he co-wrote with Peter Craig. The movie aims to reboot the Batman property following Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy and Ben Affleck’s two-movie stint as the Caped Crusader, although Affleck is poised to reprise his role in Warner Bros.’ upcoming The Flash movie which will introduce the idea of multiple timelines. Therefore The Batman will exist in its own timeline separate from all the Aquaman/Flash/Wonder Woman interconnected storylines that have graced the silver screen over the past few years.

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Image via Warner Bros.

The first teaser trailer for The Batman absolutely stole DC FanDome, as the gritty aesthetic (all hail cinematographer Greig Fraser), Nirvana cover song, and mystery-oriented story grabbed everyone’s attention. Reeves has said the story of The Batman takes place in “Year Two” of Bruce Wayne being Batman and will find him following a series of crimes as he tries to unravel a central mystery, likely the work of Paul Dano’s The Riddler. Along the way he’ll come into contact with Zoe Kravtiz’s Catwoman and Colin Farrell’s Penguin, albeit not yet fully formed versions of those characters.

In that way The Batman will be set apart from other recent Batman movies. It’s very much a mystery thriller with a single throughline rather than a series of scenes in which Batman beats people up as he shambles his way to a big showdown with the main villain.

Reeves said they only completed about 25% of the film before the COVID shutdown so there’s still a ways to go, but right now I’m hard pressed to find a movie I’m more excited about in 2021.

For more on The Batman, read Vinnie's impassioned defense of Pattinson's casting and why the movie isn't an origin story. The film hits theaters on October 1, 2021.

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Image via DC/Warner Bros.