diff --git a/libavfilter/af_aformat.c b/libavfilter/af_aformat.c
index 5658da11ea..39bd850fdb 100644
--- a/libavfilter/af_aformat.c
+++ b/libavfilter/af_aformat.c
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ static int get_sample_rate(const char *samplerate)
     return FFMAX(ret, 0);
 }
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     AFormatContext *s = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/af_amix.c b/libavfilter/af_amix.c
index a1f6747c51..1981365fec 100644
--- a/libavfilter/af_amix.c
+++ b/libavfilter/af_amix.c
@@ -483,7 +483,7 @@ fail:
     return ret;
 }
 
-static int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     MixContext *s = ctx->priv;
     int i;
diff --git a/libavfilter/af_asyncts.c b/libavfilter/af_asyncts.c
index 8c7313a321..13c5a915c4 100644
--- a/libavfilter/af_asyncts.c
+++ b/libavfilter/af_asyncts.c
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ static const AVOption asyncts_options[] = {
 
 AVFILTER_DEFINE_CLASS(asyncts);
 
-static int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     ASyncContext *s = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/af_channelmap.c b/libavfilter/af_channelmap.c
index 4cc92c93ac..a4088640a3 100644
--- a/libavfilter/af_channelmap.c
+++ b/libavfilter/af_channelmap.c
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ static int get_channel(char **map, uint64_t *ch, char delim)
     return 0;
 }
 
-static av_cold int channelmap_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int channelmap_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     ChannelMapContext *s = ctx->priv;
     int ret = 0;
diff --git a/libavfilter/af_channelsplit.c b/libavfilter/af_channelsplit.c
index e87d629642..89743c6909 100644
--- a/libavfilter/af_channelsplit.c
+++ b/libavfilter/af_channelsplit.c
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ static const AVOption channelsplit_options[] = {
 
 AVFILTER_DEFINE_CLASS(channelsplit);
 
-static int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *arg)
+static int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     ChannelSplitContext *s = ctx->priv;
     int nb_channels;
diff --git a/libavfilter/af_join.c b/libavfilter/af_join.c
index cba400225b..f3fdccafc1 100644
--- a/libavfilter/af_join.c
+++ b/libavfilter/af_join.c
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ static int parse_maps(AVFilterContext *ctx)
     return 0;
 }
 
-static int join_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static int join_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     JoinContext *s = ctx->priv;
     int ret, i;
diff --git a/libavfilter/af_volume.c b/libavfilter/af_volume.c
index 915a4dc197..7d2b9bad55 100644
--- a/libavfilter/af_volume.c
+++ b/libavfilter/af_volume.c
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ static const AVOption volume_options[] = {
 
 AVFILTER_DEFINE_CLASS(volume);
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     VolumeContext *vol = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/avfilter.c b/libavfilter/avfilter.c
index 871ab49c7a..a1b0a1da02 100644
--- a/libavfilter/avfilter.c
+++ b/libavfilter/avfilter.c
@@ -838,9 +838,9 @@ int avfilter_init_filter(AVFilterContext *filter, const char *args, void *opaque
     }
 
     if (filter->filter->init_opaque)
-        ret = filter->filter->init_opaque(filter, args, opaque);
+        ret = filter->filter->init_opaque(filter, opaque);
     else if (filter->filter->init)
-        ret = filter->filter->init(filter, args);
+        ret = filter->filter->init(filter);
     else if (filter->filter->init_dict)
         ret = filter->filter->init_dict(filter, &options);
     if (ret < 0)
diff --git a/libavfilter/avfilter.h b/libavfilter/avfilter.h
index 88cd3e3979..4aa4399303 100644
--- a/libavfilter/avfilter.h
+++ b/libavfilter/avfilter.h
@@ -441,10 +441,10 @@ typedef struct AVFilter {
      */
 
     /**
-     * Filter initialization function. Args contains the user-supplied
-     * parameters. FIXME: maybe an AVOption-based system would be better?
+     * Filter initialization function. Called when all the options have been
+     * set.
      */
-    int (*init)(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args);
+    int (*init)(AVFilterContext *ctx);
 
     /**
      * Should be set instead of init by the filters that want to pass a
diff --git a/libavfilter/buffersrc.c b/libavfilter/buffersrc.c
index 1d65a1db35..3e05fb37e6 100644
--- a/libavfilter/buffersrc.c
+++ b/libavfilter/buffersrc.c
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ int av_buffersrc_buffer(AVFilterContext *ctx, AVFilterBufferRef *buf)
 }
 #endif
 
-static av_cold int init_video(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init_video(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     BufferSourceContext *c = ctx->priv;
 
@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@ static const AVOption abuffer_options[] = {
 
 AVFILTER_DEFINE_CLASS(abuffer);
 
-static av_cold int init_audio(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init_audio(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     BufferSourceContext *s = ctx->priv;
     int ret = 0;
diff --git a/libavfilter/fifo.c b/libavfilter/fifo.c
index 5153752f06..ba72cca07f 100644
--- a/libavfilter/fifo.c
+++ b/libavfilter/fifo.c
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ typedef struct {
     int allocated_samples;      ///< number of samples out was allocated for
 } FifoContext;
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     FifoContext *fifo = ctx->priv;
     fifo->last = &fifo->root;
diff --git a/libavfilter/split.c b/libavfilter/split.c
index cde2ab1efb..39d2da41b5 100644
--- a/libavfilter/split.c
+++ b/libavfilter/split.c
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ typedef struct SplitContext {
     int nb_outputs;
 } SplitContext;
 
-static int split_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static int split_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     SplitContext *s = ctx->priv;
     int i;
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_aspect.c b/libavfilter/vf_aspect.c
index 99457a76a1..973116a958 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_aspect.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_aspect.c
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ typedef struct {
 } AspectContext;
 
 #if FF_API_OLD_FILTER_OPTS
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     AspectContext *s = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_boxblur.c b/libavfilter/vf_boxblur.c
index 412af3c74e..758964476b 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_boxblur.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_boxblur.c
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ typedef struct {
 #define V 2
 #define A 3
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     BoxBlurContext *boxblur = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_cropdetect.c b/libavfilter/vf_cropdetect.c
index b721f70df5..3d109f8a59 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_cropdetect.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_cropdetect.c
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ static int checkline(void *ctx, const unsigned char *src, int stride, int len, i
     return total;
 }
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     CropDetectContext *cd = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_delogo.c b/libavfilter/vf_delogo.c
index 1b4ea69c38..4808cf368b 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_delogo.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_delogo.c
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ static int query_formats(AVFilterContext *ctx)
     return 0;
 }
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     DelogoContext *delogo = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_drawbox.c b/libavfilter/vf_drawbox.c
index c575b2fa56..edb77cc79f 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_drawbox.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_drawbox.c
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ typedef struct {
     int vsub, hsub;   ///< chroma subsampling
 } DrawBoxContext;
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     DrawBoxContext *drawbox = ctx->priv;
     uint8_t rgba_color[4];
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_drawtext.c b/libavfilter/vf_drawtext.c
index 62d9f88406..89c855c384 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_drawtext.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_drawtext.c
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ static int load_textfile(AVFilterContext *ctx)
     return 0;
 }
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     int err;
     DrawTextContext *dtext = ctx->priv;
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_fade.c b/libavfilter/vf_fade.c
index 639ef34cf9..71e0f01208 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_fade.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_fade.c
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ typedef struct {
 
 } FadeContext;
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     FadeContext *fade = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_format.c b/libavfilter/vf_format.c
index 5a95b5f525..56ce74c503 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_format.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_format.c
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ typedef struct {
 
 #define AV_PIX_FMT_NAME_MAXSIZE 32
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     FormatContext *format = ctx->priv;
     const char *cur, *sep;
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_fps.c b/libavfilter/vf_fps.c
index d9f610a00a..b819567960 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_fps.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_fps.c
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ static const AVOption fps_options[] = {
 
 AVFILTER_DEFINE_CLASS(fps);
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     FPSContext *s = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_frei0r.c b/libavfilter/vf_frei0r.c
index c16e0479bc..6107fc1b32 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_frei0r.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_frei0r.c
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ static av_cold int frei0r_init(AVFilterContext *ctx,
     return 0;
 }
 
-static av_cold int filter_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int filter_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     Frei0rContext *frei0r = ctx->priv;
 
@@ -454,7 +454,7 @@ AVFilter avfilter_vf_frei0r = {
     .outputs   = avfilter_vf_frei0r_outputs,
 };
 
-static av_cold int source_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int source_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     Frei0rContext *frei0r = ctx->priv;
     AVRational frame_rate_q;
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_gradfun.c b/libavfilter/vf_gradfun.c
index b174673e2b..9e21560de9 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_gradfun.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_gradfun.c
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ static void filter(GradFunContext *ctx, uint8_t *dst, const uint8_t *src, int wi
     }
 }
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     GradFunContext *gf = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_hqdn3d.c b/libavfilter/vf_hqdn3d.c
index f2117a8db7..1582b3b651 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_hqdn3d.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_hqdn3d.c
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ static int16_t *precalc_coefs(double dist25, int depth)
 #define PARAM2_DEFAULT 3.0
 #define PARAM3_DEFAULT 6.0
 
-static int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     HQDN3DContext *hqdn3d = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_libopencv.c b/libavfilter/vf_libopencv.c
index aa5d0258a6..cbaf8f79b9 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_libopencv.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_libopencv.c
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ static OCVFilterEntry ocv_filter_entries[] = {
     { "smooth", sizeof(SmoothContext), smooth_init, NULL, smooth_end_frame_filter },
 };
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     OCVContext *ocv = ctx->priv;
     int i;
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_lut.c b/libavfilter/vf_lut.c
index 2824f03b09..1f0b684b75 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_lut.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_lut.c
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ static const AVFilterPad outputs[] = {
 #define lut_options options
 AVFILTER_DEFINE_CLASS(lut);
 
-static int lut_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static int lut_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     return 0;
 }
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ DEFINE_LUT_FILTER(lut, "Compute and apply a lookup table to the RGB/YUV input vi
 #define lutyuv_options options
 AVFILTER_DEFINE_CLASS(lutyuv);
 
-static int lutyuv_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static int lutyuv_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     LutContext *lut = ctx->priv;
 
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ DEFINE_LUT_FILTER(lutyuv, "Compute and apply a lookup table to the YUV input vid
 #define lutrgb_options options
 AVFILTER_DEFINE_CLASS(lutrgb);
 
-static int lutrgb_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static int lutrgb_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     LutContext *lut = ctx->priv;
 
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ static const AVOption negate_options[] = {
 
 AVFILTER_DEFINE_CLASS(negate);
 
-static int negate_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static int negate_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     LutContext *lut = ctx->priv;
     int i;
@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@ static int negate_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
         }
     }
 
-    return lut_init(ctx, NULL);
+    return lut_init(ctx);
 }
 
 DEFINE_LUT_FILTER(negate, "Negate input video.");
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_pad.c b/libavfilter/vf_pad.c
index 7159c37c9a..34076799a6 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_pad.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_pad.c
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ typedef struct {
     FFDrawColor color;
 } PadContext;
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     PadContext *pad = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_scale.c b/libavfilter/vf_scale.c
index 176e66dd07..cce2cc220b 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_scale.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_scale.c
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ typedef struct {
     char *flags_str;
 } ScaleContext;
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     ScaleContext *scale = ctx->priv;
     int ret;
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_unsharp.c b/libavfilter/vf_unsharp.c
index ba025c9550..038ba4bafe 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_unsharp.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_unsharp.c
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ static void set_filter_param(FilterParam *fp, int msize_x, int msize_y, float am
     fp->halfscale = 1 << (fp->scalebits - 1);
 }
 
-static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     UnsharpContext *unsharp = ctx->priv;
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/vsrc_testsrc.c b/libavfilter/vsrc_testsrc.c
index 7ae256d40d..a981001c04 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vsrc_testsrc.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vsrc_testsrc.c
@@ -500,7 +500,7 @@ static void test_fill_picture(AVFilterContext *ctx, AVFrame *frame)
     }
 }
 
-static av_cold int test_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int test_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     TestSourceContext *test = ctx->priv;
 
@@ -604,7 +604,7 @@ static void rgbtest_fill_picture(AVFilterContext *ctx, AVFrame *frame)
      }
 }
 
-static av_cold int rgbtest_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
+static av_cold int rgbtest_init(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     TestSourceContext *test = ctx->priv;