Matt Reeves Missed The 'The Batman' Premiere Because He Got COVID

Years after the release of the insanely successful last film in the Batman Trilogy, "The Dark Knight Rises," a new standalone Batman film has finally premiered, and fans are super excited for the movie to hit cinemas.

"The Batman" had its world premiere on March 2nd, and the cast and many celebrities were in attendance. However, one significant figure, Director Matt Reeves, had to miss the premiere after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Read on to learn more about the situation and how Reeves is doing.

Reeves attended a special screening of "The Batman," which was held in London on February 23rd but was forced to miss the film's world premiere when he received a positive diagnosis for COVID-19.

The film's star-studded cast, including Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, Paul Dano, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jeffrey Wright, were in attendance at the world premiere, which was held in New York City at the Josie Robertson Plaza.

Despite his inability to appear physically at the event, the 55-year-old director made a virtual appearance while the cast stood onstage at the premiere and gave a speech to the audience about the film and the long journey that has led to its release.

According to Variety, Reeves said, "We were taking the film around and doing the press tour. Despite being double-vaccinated and boostered, I got COVID. The good news is that I'm healthy, I'm good. But I'm not with you."

"It's a great heartbreak for me because this movie means so much to me," he continued, "It was a five-year journey for me, and I'm really excited that we're sharing it with you tonight."

Reeves concluded with, "I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, the incredible crew that we made this movie with. They are such incredible craftsmen, artists… the best crew that we ever worked with… I'd like to thank each and every one of you, name by name, though they informed me that this movie we made is quite long."

During a recent interview with Collider, Reeves spoke about the film's screening for test audiences before they locked in the final version for release. He said, "They would come to a screening, and then suddenly they realized they were seeing a Batman movie, and it showed how much love there is for Batman, which was so exciting for me."

"Because of course, I've loved this since I was a kid and to be in an audience and have that big-screen experience after we've all been away from it for so long and to see people cheer and to see people get excited and then to see them get wrapped up."

He continued, "I mean, there'd be moments where there was just utter silence and you were like, 'Okay, people love Batman and they're into this,' and that was exciting. That to me was the best part of the testing."

After years of anticipation, "The Batman" will finally hit theaters this March, and the hype for the film is on the rise. There are already several critic reviews of the movie, and there is a lot of praise for the gritty performances and serious tone.

Peter Debruge from Variety said, "This grounded, frequently brutal and nearly three-hour film-noir registers among the best of the genre, even if — or more aptly, because — what makes the film so great is its willingness to dismantle and interrogate the very concept of superheroes."

The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney said Pattinson, who plays Batman himself, has a "magnetic intensity" and is "riveting throughout" the film while Alex Stedman from IGN focused more on the excellence of Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman and Paul Dano as the Riddler.