diff --git a/lib/ansible/utils/template.py b/lib/ansible/utils/template.py
index 4158768787..faf0b02d99 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/utils/template.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/utils/template.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ import pwd
 
 # TODO: refactor this file
 
-FILTER_PLUGINS = {}
+FILTER_PLUGINS = None
 _LISTRE = re.compile(r"(\w+)\[(\d+)\]")
 JINJA2_OVERRIDE='#jinja2:'