MOVIE NEWS – The announcement of The Batman’s release date was made in a quite interesting way as it was announced by Greg Silverman Earlier, who was leaving his post as Warner Bros.’ President of Creative Development and Worldwide Production, with New Line’s Toby Emmerich stepping in to serve as the Chief Content Officer for both Warner Bros. and New Line.

It was during the very interview where Greg Silverman told why he decided to step away from the studio now, and the former WB executive also confirmed that Ben Affleck‘s The Batman will be released somewhere in 2018.

“Then in 2018, there is a second Fantastic Beasts film, and Ready Player One feels like an ambitious movie by the world’s best filmmaker, Steven Spielberg, that will set the world on fire. There is Aquaman with James Wan, and Scooby Doo will be a huge launch and then there is Lego Ninjago. And then there is Ben Affleck‘s The Batman,” told Greg Silverman had to say about the studio’s 2018 slate.

There has been quite a bit of contradictory information emerging about this movie as of late. Joe Manganiello, who will play the main villain Deathstroke, teased that shooting will begin at the end of 2016, but then just yesterday, Ben Affleck himself said that he didn’t want to “rush” the movie, and that he wanted to take the time to get it right. Then, earlier today, in yet another interview, Ben Affleck said that everything is on the right track for production to begin in spring 2017, although he added that the script is still being worked on.

Ben Affleck will once again return as Bruce Wayne/Batman, while he will also direct the movie from a script he co-wrote with Geoff Johns. No story details have been confirmed, but there have been rumors that Batman will be locked in Arkham Asylum, while the iconic Catwoman has also been rumored to be included. The Red Hood was once another potential villain, but that rumor was shot down, although another report claimed that there will be several iconic villains popping up in The Batman. Aside from Deathstroke, no additional villains have been confirmed for this superhero adventure. If production really is starting this coming spring, hopefully we’ll have some casting details very soon.