Ben Affleck’s The Batman continues to be one of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood. Ever since it was announced that Ben Affleck would be portraying the Dark Knight on the big screen in the DC Extended Universe, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that he would direct a standalone Batman film at some point or another (and if Warner Bros. wanted to capitalize on their relationship with the actor/director, the sooner the better, right?). 

But no confirmation came for quite some time. 

Only in the past few months was it even officially confirmed there was one in the works. At every turn, Ben Affleck even seems to be downplaying that there’s even one in development. After accidentally spilling the beans that the movie would, in fact, be called The Batman, he backpedaled, stating that the title could change, that there is no Batman movie yet, and that they’re still trying to figure it out.

READ: THE BATMAN: DIRECTOR BEN AFFLECK BACKPEDALS HARDCORE ON TITLE REVEAL

Well, every day that passes seems to indicate that they’re more than just “figuring it out.” If a recent quote from Joe Manganiello, the actor set to play Deathstroke — the main villain in The Batman — then it’s logical to infer that the project is pretty far into development.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Manganiello stated that he was “getting ready to go shoot Batman in the spring.”

If we’re to take his word for it, that means we can expect The Batman to start filming in Spring 2017. While this doesn’t necessarily confirm a release date — it’s always possible for a film to be in the can much longer than it needs to be — it would make sense if the film were released in Fall 2018, around a year and a half after the start of production. If you’ve been following comic book productions, you’ll have recognized that there’s a general window of 1-2 years between the start of production and the final release of the film.

A few weeks back, our very own Kellvin Chavez revealed via Twitter some scuttlebutt he’s been hearing — namely that The Batman would be getting a November 2018 release. This flies in the face of the October 2018 release date DC has for a currently-untitled film (which we all speculated would be The Batman). However, back during the Justice League set visit, Affleck revealed to Screen Rant that he knew the release date of his Batman film, and that they were probably going to miss it.

With all this in mind, it’s possible that indeed The Batman was originally slated for an October 2018 release, but has since been pushed a month to November 2018. It falls within a realistic window for a production that starts in Spring 2017, giving the film around a year to accomplish its visual effects, which is well within a reasonable time frame.

Our conclusion: Joe Manganiello’s on point.

What do you think? Is The Batman really starting production in the spring of 2017, or is Manganiello speaking too soon? If so, when do you think the film will hit theaters? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCES: Entertainment Tonight, Screen Rant, Kellvin Chavez