Ben Affleck says his solo Batman film will begin shooting in the spring: 'I'm very excited'

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Ben Affleck said his highly-anticipated Batman solo film will begin shooting this coming spring.

"We're on the right track with that and everything is coming together," the actor and filmmaker said of starting in the spring to Variety during a recent screening of his upcoming crime thriller Live by Night.

"We're still finishing up a script. I'm very excited," he continued.

Affleck is directing the Batman picture and working on the script alongside famed comic book writer and DC Entertainment head Geoff Johns.

Joe Manganiello has been cast in the film as the formidable assassin Deathstroke and news has come out that iconic whip-wielding burglar Catwoman will not be making an appearance.

Affleck discussed the Dark Knight's storied film history with Variety and said how much he respects previous onscreen incarnations of the character.

"I respect all of those [Batman] movies," the 44-year-old said. "Christopher Nolan did an incredible job, Christian Bale did an incredible job, Tim Burton did an incredible job. At a certain point you have to look forward and try to believe in your own vision for it and not be looking over your shoulder the whole time. I go into that movie with a tremendous amount of respect for the people who came before me."