One of pop culture’s most famous vehicles has been spotted on the streets of Glasgow, as filming is set to begin on superhero sequel The Batman: Part II.

Sharp-eyed locals saw the Batmobile on St Vincent Street on Monday, as fans of the Dark Knight started visiting locations expected to be used in the new film.

Other vehicles seen include police cars marked with Gotham Police signs and SWAT vehicles, while bus shelters now have timetables displayed for Gotham.

The Kingston Bridge, Newton Street, Bothwell Street and North Street are thought to be the main filming areas in the city, with road restrictions already in place and, in some cases, running through until September.

A short but important scene in previous film The Batman was shot in Glasgow’s Necropolis, featuring the hero riding a motorbike.

Some fans were already gathering in the city for an early look, although there were no signs of filming having started yet.

Matthew had travelled from Worcestershire, and is such a big fan of the character that he creates replica props as a side business.

He told BBC Scotland News: “We’ve seen some vehicles, like some SWAT unit vehicles and the Batmobile and some signage going up. The first one is one of my favourite films, so why not come up to Glasgow and have a look around?

“Glasgow’s a perfect Gotham City – the architecture and buildings are perfect, they look just like the comic.”

Glasgow also doubled as Gotham in another superhero film, The Flash, as well as in a Batgirl movie that was filmed entirely in Glasgow but never released by Warner Brothers.

It is not known if any of the new Batman’s main stars, like Robert Pattinson, Scarlett Johansson and Colin Farrell, will be on set.

The latest Scottish film shoot comes after two of this year’s biggest films – The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day – were partially filmed in the country.

The Greek epic filmed on the Moray Firth coast, including a battle scene in Culbin Forest, while Glasgow doubled for New York in Marvel’s latest blockbuster.

Comic book fans are now hoping for similar excitement to last year’s Spider-Man shoot, when star Tom Holland appeared and a dramatic car chase scene was filmed with the wall-crawling hero.

Aidan told BBC Scotland News he was in the city already when he saw filming was slated to start.

He added: “It was amazing to see Spider-Man last year, and the same with Batman. It’s good for the city – it’s so cool to be in the moment. I saw online it was filming today and thought I’d come along and see it being set up.”

Another fan, Derek, said he thought the surge in films using Glasgow was a boost for the city.

“It’s so exciting to see it being set up, and to see the all vehicles starting to come in.”

Aside from its use as a film location, Batman has several connections to Scotland.

Comic book writers Alan Grant and Grant Morrison enjoyed long spells penning the hero’s adventures, while Scottish artists Frank Quitely and Mark Simpson – better known by his pen name Jock – have illustrated many stories and comic book covers.

A one off graphic novel, Batman: The Scottish Connection, was released in 1998 and featured the hero’s alter-ego Bruce Wayne travelling to Edinburgh.

Prohibition of waiting, loading and unloading

7 August – 29 September: Newton Street car park between Broomielaw and A814 Stobcross Road

Prohibition of pedestrian movements

0:6:00 19 August – 05:00 20 August: Bothwell Street between West Campbell Street and Hope Street and Wellington Street between Waterloo Street and St Vincent Street.

19:30 on 20 August – 05:00 on 21 August: Bothwell Street between West Campbell Street and Hope Street and Wellington Street between Waterloo Street and St Vincent Street

19:30 on 21 August – 05:00 on 22 August: Pitt Street between Waterloo Street and St Vincent Street and Bothwell Street between Pitt Street and Douglas Street.

19:30 – 05:00 each day between 22 August – 28 August: Bothwell Street between West Campbell Street and Hope Street and Wellington Street between Waterloo Street and St Vincent Street

06:00 28 August – 06:00 29 August: Glasgow Bridge for its full length, west side only, NC75 between Glasgow Bridge and York Street, and Broomielaw, south side, between George V Bridge and Glasgow Bridge.

Prohibition of vehicle movements

01:00 19 August – 06:00 29 August: Wellington Street between Waterloo Street and St Vincent Street, Bothwell Street between Hope Street and West Campbell Street, Bothwell Lane between West Campbell Street and Wellington Street, Waterloo Lane for its full length and St Vincent Lane from West Campbell Street to Hope Street.

06:00 30 August – 06:00 31 August and then between 19:00 until 06:00 each day from 1 September – 5 September: North Street between Broomielaw and A814 Expressway.

06:00 29 August – 06:00 9 September: Newton Street between A814 Expressway and Broomielaw.

From now until 06:00 31 August and from 19:00 until 06:00 every day from 1 September to 4 September: North Street between Broomielaw and A814 Expressway and Newton Street between Broomielaw and A814 Expressway.