It looks like The Batman isn’t as far away as we thought. Actor Joe Manganiello, who’s set to play Deathstroke in the film, recently revealed that shooting will begin in the spring of 2017.

The actor was asked by Entertainment Tonight how he was doing, and he replied, “Great, man, just getting ready to go shoot Batman in the spring.”

Hopefully Manganiello isn’t in trouble for confirming that shooting starts earlier than most fans expected! This places the debut of The Batman sometime in 2018.

Ben Affleck is returning as Batman, and he’ll be directing and writing, as well. The rest of the cast includes Manganiello as Deathstroke, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, and – if the fans have anything to say about it – hopefully Anna Kendrick as Robin. More casting news is surely to come, but for now at least, we know a bit more about when production is starting up.