As the hype over next month’s superhero showdown Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice continues to grow, Warner Bros. has hit the green light in announcing that April 11th will be the starting shoot date for Justice League – Part 1. Both films are being directed by Zack Snyder, who has become a major creative leader for the DC movie universe. He directed 2013’s Man of Steel and is a producer on an array of DC films slated for the coming years.

According to EW, Snyder had a few worries about when the actual start date may happen:

The idea that we could begin to boot up a Justice League concept was a cool thing. It was a little bit of an ‘about time’ moment, and I don’t blame [the studio] for feeling that way, because it’s a long time coming. But I do feel like it’s a little bit of a creative hurdle. It seems like an easy thing to do at first glance, the idea that, ‘Oh, we just get the rest of the superheroes in there.’ But you have to [establish] a world where they can exist.

Although Marvel already has a plethora of films to their name, DC and Warner Bros are only now vamping up their production. Dawn of Justice, set for release March 25, will mark a major stepping point for the connected universe and seems to be somewhat of a prologue to what audiences may see in the the two-part Justice League story. There will be glimpses of Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg, along with the two title characters. And as the universe grows, more standalone films for the individual heroes will appear, all of which will have heavy competition as the years become more and more packed with comic book adventures.

Snyder also explains why it took such a noticeably longer time for Warner Bros. to begin the shared universe:

The studio really wants us to try and pace it up, as far as — now we have an idea where we’re going.

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice will be released March 25, 2016, and Justice League – Part 1 on November 17, 2017.