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While we probably won’t see Batman swinging into action on Tatooine anytime soon, it’s been revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that Matt Reeves’ upcoming blockbuster The Batman is using the same VFX technology as The Mandalorian.
The Mandalorian made use of a giant LED screen powered by the game engine Unreal during production. Industrial Light & Magic turned the technology into the production unit StageCraft, which they describe as “a virtual production solution”.
The news of The Batman using the technology was shared by Rob Bredow, Industrial Light & Magic’s chief creative officer. While he didn’t give specifics, he did comment that The Batman was augmenting its practical sets in the UK with an LED screen for certain scenes.
The Batman’s director of photography, Greig Fraser, is a Star Wars alum, having worked in the same position on The Mandalorian and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – so it makes perfect sense that he’d want to use the same innovative technology across his other projects.
In fact, StageCraft technology will again be used by Taika Waititi for Thor: Love and Thunder. Waititi is another Star Wars-pro: he directed an episode of The Mandalorian and played IG-11 in the series. Waititi is also due to direct an untitled Star Wars film releasing in 2025, which starts location scouting this December.
This kind of production technique is definitely handy for creating breath-taking scenery like the sandy plains of Tatooine – and during the pandemic, it might make it easier to film without needing to relocate the production to other locations. The Batman is currently shooting in Liverpool in the UK and Chicago in the US – and there’ve been plenty of exciting Easter eggs to mull over while we wait for the film’s release in 2022.
