diff --git a/src/main/java/com/hubspot/jinjava/lib/filter/DateTimeFormatFilter.java b/src/main/java/com/hubspot/jinjava/lib/filter/DateTimeFormatFilter.java
index 68040d553..b1f9c7c75 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/hubspot/jinjava/lib/filter/DateTimeFormatFilter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/hubspot/jinjava/lib/filter/DateTimeFormatFilter.java
@@ -33,13 +33,9 @@ public String getName() {
   public Object filter(Object var, JinjavaInterpreter interpreter,
       Object... args) {
 
-    List<String> stringArgs = new ArrayList<>();
-    for (Object arg: args) {
-        stringArgs.add(Objects.toString(arg));
-    }
-    String[] filterArgs = new String[stringArgs.size()];
+    String[] filterArgs = new String[args.length];
     for (int i = 0; i < filterArgs.length; i++) {
-        filterArgs[i] = stringArgs.get(i);
+        filterArgs[i] = Objects.toString(args[i]);
     }
 
     if (args.length > 0) {