Dark Universe , the film that Guillermo del Toro plans to make set in the DC Universe and featuring a number of supernatural characters, will go forward at Warner Bros. whether or not he directs it, the filmmaker said during a promotional stop for The Strain today.

Del Toro, whose film Crimson Peak is coming up soon, has reportedly turned in what he thinks is a strong first draft of a script and says that contrary to fan expectations, it's unlikely that the project would go away just because he doesn't direct it.

"We turned in our [script] revision, and it all depends on the calendar, you know?" del Toro told IGN. "If I can do it, I would love to do it. And I think the screenplay and the characters are very solid."

They report that del Toro went on to say that if his calendar simply doesn't line up, "somebody will do it," adding that entering a shared universe is one of the hardest things you can do as a filmmaker.

"You cannot say, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it after I do this,’ or ‘I have the first season of The Strain,'" said del Toro. "It needs to fall into the plan of the DC Universe."