Late last year was a confusing time or DC and Batman fans. When Ben Affleck was officially announced as the director for The Batman, the studio didnâ€™t make any specific date announcement. In fact, if anything Affleck seemed adamant on insisting that there was no Batman film yet until they had a script, and with that in mind, it wouldnâ€™t have made sense for them to have a shoot date scheduled yet, right?

Well, as happens in the business, sometimes the right hand isnâ€™t talking to the left, and while Affleck seemed to be distancing himself from the film, Manganiello went and stated that they were aiming for a spring 2017 shoot date. As we know, the drama around this film didnâ€™t stop here. Affleck went on to drop out of the directorâ€™s chair leaving it open for War for the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves.

So what does that mean for the schedule? Can we still expect a spring shoot date? Speaking with RI Magazine, Manganiello updated his statement, and made it clear that above all else, the collaborators were dedicated to making the best possible film, even if it meant pushing things back.

â€œLast 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 doesnâ€™t matter. Hereâ€™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 weâ€™re proud of. What weâ€™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 thatâ€™s really what itâ€™s about. Itâ€™s funny how the media likes to run with, â€˜Oh thereâ€™s trouble!â€™ â€˜Oh, the script needs to be revised!â€™ Theyâ€™re drama queens. Thereâ€™s a creative process, and everyone on the cast and crew wants to make this the best movie possible. So thatâ€™s what weâ€™re gonna do. When we start shooting it, weâ€™ll start shooting it. It will be soon, I can say that. Hereâ€™s the thing: No one wants to create that superhero movie thatâ€™s polarizing to fans and critics. Rest assured, weâ€™re gonna do this thing right.â€

The man certainly made a few great points. First off, heâ€™s right. Studios do not want to make polarizing films. They did that with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, and that didnâ€™t seem to do anyone any favors. He also makes a great point in not wanting to be backed into a start date. Warner Bros has already made that mistake repeatedly. In giving the release schedule for nine of their films in advance, they created a monster movie machine that canâ€™t pivot when needed.

Even worse, when they manage to make a pivot (like with Justice League and itâ€™s new, lighter tone), asses like us (the media) see it as a panic move. As much as people like us hate being left in the dark about the goings on behind the scenes, keeping things tightly under wraps can help in preventing backlashes against entire shared universes. If we had only learned about each film as they came, then there would be a whole lot less turmoil from fans surrounding all this news. The film business has always been dramatic, but more than usual, it seems like the drama at Warner Bros has been largely public.

What do you think of Manganielloâ€™s statement? Let us know in the comments down below!

The Batman will hit theaters when it’s damn well ready.

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SOURCE: RI Magazine (via Screen Rant)