The release of The Batman in Russia has been put on hold.
Following Disney‘s cue after the theatrical release of Pixar’s Turning Red was delayed, Warner Bros. have now paused the premiere of The Batman in light of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“In light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing the release of its feature film, The Batman, in Russia. We will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves,” Warner Bros. said in a statement obtained by Deadline.
They added: “We hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy.”
Last weekend Brian Cox revealed that Russian actors have been banned from speaking about the Ukraine invasion.
The Succession actor took to the SAG Award podium and described the ongoing crisis as “truly, truly awful”.
“It’s particularly awful in terms of [how] it’s affecting people, particularly in our profession,” Cox went on. “The President of Ukraine [Volodymyr Zelensky] was a comic. He was a wonderful comic performer. And we should respect that for him. To come to the presidency was amazing.”
He added: “But the thing that’s really distressed me is what’s happening in Russia, to my fellow actors and actresses and performers and writers and critics. They are told, under pain of high treason, they cannot say a word about Ukraine. And I think that is pretty awful.
“I think we should all stand together, and also for those people, the people in Russia who don’t like what’s going on, and particularly the artists. I think we should really join in celebrating them and hope that they can make a shift. Because I believe they can.”
In a four-star review of The Batman, NME wrote: “Director Matt Reeves has mixed up gritty mob drama with film-noir detective thriller – and thanks to Dano’s ultra-creepy villain, some psychological horror too.
“Most of the time it comes off brilliantly. Pattinson plays him with a dour fanaticism that only occasionally topples over into parody.”
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