The Town established Ben Affleck as a credibly rising star behind the camera and it now looks like Warner Bros. may offer him the chance to take on the long awaited film version of DC Comics Justice League. Combining the heroic talents of Superman, Batman  and Wonder Woman to save the world and hopefully give the studio and Avengers style box office hit.

Warner Bros have long been admirers of Affleck, already reportedly working with him on an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand and a biopic of infamous Bostonian gangster Whitey Bulger. 

Justice League would undoubtedly represent a new level of pressure and fan expectation for Affleck, giving him his first crack at helming a major tent pole franchise. It remains to be seen whether Affleck will decide to accept the invitation.

A Justice League movie has long been delayed and represents a significant challenge and could prove a costly failure if it doesn’t live up to the inevitable Avengers comparisons and dispel existing fan concerns.

To clear up any lingering confusion, it’s already been confirmed that the Batman and Superman characters in the new Justice League film will not be connected in any way with the recent Dark Knight series and Zack Snyder’s forthcoming Man of Steel Superman reboot. So that means new actors replacing Christian Bale and Henry Cavill. It’s a confusing complication and a major part of why the production has long stalled.

The studio has been hesitant about trying to launch an ensemble superhero adventure without the luxury of leading up to it with a series of stand-alone adventures as Marvel did with The Avengers. While the heroic characters may be iconic and instantly recognisable, it is concerning that Wonder Woman, The Flash and Aquaman are unproven on the big screen; while fans may also be reluctant to accept yet another reincarnation of Batman and Superman.