Some of Liverpool’s iconic landmarks appear in the newly released, The Batman.
The latest film in the franchise was the first large-scale production in an urban area to shoot under the new Covid-19 industry guidelines, with stars including Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Colin Farrell and John Turturro spending a week filming in Liverpool.
Warner Bros used city locations for a number of scenes as well as hosting a backstage film crew hub there.
The Walker Art Gallery was one of the locations transformed into Gotham City, while the official photograph from the film shows Pattinson in front of St George’s Hall:
“The Batman gave our venues and our events team the opportunity to play a part in comic book history – and brought a commercial income boost during the challenges of the pandemic,” said Karen O’Connor, Director of Commercial Enterprises at National Museums Liverpool.
“We can feel The Batman fever here in the city since the film launched last week – and there have been many keen to spot the real-life filming locations.”
National Museum Liverpool’s World Museum was used as a backstage area, with several members of its events team going into Covid isolation with the film crew throughout the shoot.
“We isolated in the crew hotel for the duration of filming – and supported the operations of the covid-secure hair, makeup and costume facility. It was an intense, but amazing experience,” explained Gareth Nuttall, National Museums Liverpool’s Events Sales Manager.
“Our venues have become backdrops for a number of major productions – from Doctor Who to Peaky Blinders, and now The Batman. It has been brilliant to see the transformation of the Walker Art Gallery in Gotham City.”
As well as having an immediate impact on the regional economy, filming can give a longer-term boost to a region’s tourism. In 2020, Screen Yorkshire set up a special screen tourism website to showcase film and television locations.
