Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline’s TCA coverage.

At today’s panel on Starz’ new series Da Vinci’s Demons, David S. Goyer, the show’s creator, writer and executive producer, said that his first historical period project would be about 85% historically accurate. “He had a pretty incredible life, we didn’t have to embellish as much as you’d think,” Goyer said of Da Vinci, portrayed by Tom Reilly. Goyer pointed out that though Da Vinci is best known as an artist and scientist, he was also thought to be a great horseman. Turning Da Vinci into a TV superhero was not too difficult: “He’s kind of superhero-y anyway.” You can watch a trailer for the show below.

Goyer described the tone of the show as historical but “viewed through a modern prism” and likened it to a graphic novel that strives to be fun rather than a history book. He also said that there are surprising parallels between Da Vinci and Batman: “They both had big father issues, and formative horrific incidents when they were trapped in caves,” he said. He also noted that Batman’s creator designed Batman’s cape based on Da Vinci’s glider designs.

Goyer added that one of the conceits of the show is that thousands of pages are missing from Da Vinci’s writings and drawings. The show will speculate on what might have been included in those pages.