Last week brought the news that Christopher Nolan was actively meeting with directors and had a short list of candidates for Superman; Zach Snyder, Matt Reeves, Tony Scott, Jonathan Liebesman, and Duncan Jones. While you can read that article to get our thoughts on those choices, word from THR is that there were a few additional names on that list- Ben Affleck and Darren Aronofsky.

Ben Affleck, who recently released his wellreviewed sophomore film, is making pretty decent bank for WB right now ($55m in 10 days) and has more than demonstrated his action chops. It’s not a shock he’d be on the list, but alas, it seems those discussions have come and gone already, without Affleck moving on the project. Perhaps he got his fill of the Man of Steel with Hollywoodland.

Darren Aronofsky is the even more interesting name that’s been revealed, and apparently he remains a possible choice. For nearly 10 years Aronofsky has flirted with Hollywood, edging closer and close to making a blockbuster picture without ever having a film quite take off- Batman: Year One, Robocop, even the large-budgeted version of The Fountain. The report mentions him as in “active talks,” and with as much taste as Christopher Nolan has for collaborators, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t the top name on that list.

While they come from legit sources, these names are ultimately rumor and speculation, and it’s as likely as not the job will go to a dark-horse candidate we’ve yet to consider. You’ll certainly know when we do, which may be very (very) soon.

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