In what could be one of the best moves Warner Bros. have made in recent years, word on the grapevine is that the studio have approached Ben Affleck to direct their upcoming Justice League film.

We heard back in June that Will Beall (Gangster Squad) had quietly been hired to pen the script for the film last year, setting into motion the long-gestating project that is DC’s equivalent to The Avengers, and is expected to see Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and The Flash unite on the big screen.

Variety report that Affleck is the only director in the running that has been sent the script for the film – as you can imagine, plot details will undoubtedly be kept under wraps for years to come – and is expected to discuss the project with the studio in the coming days. Deadline, however, have since come into the arena to suggest that Affleck’s representation says that he has already passed on the directing gig, so this is all very uncertain at the moment.

The original report also suggests the likelihood of Affleck starring in the film, as well as directing, using The Town and the upcoming Argo as evidence for such a move.

Yet back in 2006, Affleck said that his experiences on Daredevil put him off returning to the superhero genre, as an actor, and that he wouldn’t soon don a suit again, so the possibility of him starring as one of the leading characters may not be as high as you might initially think. Of course, a lot of time has passed since Daredevil, and Affleck may well feel that being behind the camera could grant him more creative control in what he does in front of the camera, as well.

Interestingly, Affleck has also recently been considering an offer to lead Greg Berlanti’s sci-fi drama, Replay, which has been set up at Warner Bros. for some time, and follows the story of a man who dies and is given the chance to relive his life over and over, changing partners and professions with each replay.

The decision to take on the director’s job for the Justice League film would naturally keep Affleck rather busy, and could stop him from helming any other films beforehand, which could be cause for consideration.

Affleck has self-made a tremendous resurgence in his career in recent years, and has demonstrated with Gone Baby Gone and The Town that he has an incredible talent behind the camera, as well as in front of it. I can think of no director I would love more to helm an integral part of the new DC Universe that Warner Bros. are set to build, and hope that we have more good news to bring you once the actor-writer-director has met with the people at the top.

We’ve still got some years to go before this potentially incredible new roster makes its way to the big screen, but thankfully we have Zack Snyder’s highly-anticipated Man of Steel coming our way next summer, set to kick off these brilliant new proceedings.

Justice League is likely not going to be ready until at least 2015, which would put it in the same year that The Avengers 2 is expected to hit. Having two such immense blockbusters in the same year is a treat we rarely get – this year, of course, being a memorable one already with The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises – and it looks like we’re heading for an almighty summer three years down the line. More as we get it.