Last fall, Joe Manganiello told everyone that he would start shooting The Batman this spring. A lot has changed since then. Ben Affleck dropped out of directing, the script was given a rewrite, and Matt Reeves was hired to take over the director’s chair.

In a new interview with Robert Irvine Magazine, Manganiello explained how excited he was to be joining the DC Extended Universe, how he will make Deathstroke his own, and said The Batman will still start shooting “soon”. Check out some quotes below.

RI: You’re now entering the DC Extended Universe, which includes Man of Steel, Batman V Superman, and Suicide Squad– those movies have been successful, but have had a very rough time critically.

JM: As far as what other people think, I can’t comment, I’m just me. I’m very excited for this role. I’m very excited to be working with the people I’m going to be working with. I’ve known Jon Berg (producer) prior to joining the DCEU. I met everyone, Zack Snyder included, when Man of Steel came out. I’ve known them all for years and I’m very excited to work with everyone. Ben Affleck makes great films and he’s a great Batman. Geoff Johns certainly is a really fun guy to hang around with and has a great grasp on this steering wheel that is the Titanic of the DCEU. Knowing what they have planned for the future, I think fans are really gonna love. There were a lot of superhero and supervillain roles that came my way and my gut said those were not the right fit for me. This one was perfect. This was exactly what I was looking for. RI: And you get to make him your own because he’s never been portrayed in a live-action film before. JM: Yeah, I guess there was a TV show but I haven’t seen it. I won’t watch it. This is my character, an exciting one, and has the capacity I think, to be a great villain. And what all the great ones can do is polarize an audience. When I was a kid I always rooted for the villain. As a kid I think I would have rooted for him and I think fans will. RI: You said in an interview last year that you might start filming in the spring. Other recent reports show the script might not be there. JM: Last year, I said May and that was my understanding. It depends. They have big plans for this movie. Whether or not we start exactly on that date or in June, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. Here’s the thing: The creative process needs to be respected and no one involved in this film wants to make anything less than an unbelievable film, a legendary film. The movie will start shooting whenever those pieces are in place and we know this is gonna be something that we’re proud of. What we’re not gonna do is be backed into a start date, scrambling to get something off the ground just to get it off the ground. Everyone involved wants to make this the best film possible, so that’s really what it’s about. It’s funny how the media likes to run with, “Oh there’s trouble!” “Oh, the script needs to be revised!” They’re drama queens. There’s a creative process, and everyone on the cast and crew wants to make this the best movie possible. So that’s what we’re gonna do. When we start shooting it, we’ll start shooting it. It will be soon, I can say that. Here’s the thing: No one wants to create that superhero movie that’s polarizing to fans and critics. Rest assured, we’re gonna do this thing right.

Update: I reached out to Robert Irvine Magazine and was told that this interview was conducted earlier this year before Matt Reeves took over The Batman. So Manganiello’s comment of “soon” is probably outdated.

I’m not sure what Manganiello’s definition of “soon” is, but The Batman probably can’t start shooting until August at the earliest. Director Matt Reeves will be working on his new movie War for the Planet of the Apes until June, and then he’ll have to go around the world to promote it in July. The movie hits theaters on July 14th.

Still, it’s very exciting to get an update on The Batman from Joe Manganiello. He said all of the right things here.

SOURCE: Robert Irvine Magazine