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UPDATE: Two of the directors on the alleged short list have offered slight comments on the matter. JoBlo caught a response from Reeves at last night's Fantastic Fest screening of Let Me In. Reeves stated he was "surprised" by the news and added, "I really have no idea if any of that is true. It's certainly an amazing project, but I would be surprised..."

Though still not confirmation, a slightly more committal comment was tweeted this morning by Jones, who wrote, "About Superman... I'm going to say something really cheesy; Can't talk about it, but an honor to be on the list. Interesting times!"

Snyder had previously commented to USA Today in 2008 that he was offered Superman as a project and turned it down.

"They asked me to direct a Superman movie, and I said no," was Snyder's response more than two years ago, "He's a tricky one nowadays, isn't he? He's the king daddy of all comic-book heroes, but I'm just not sure how you sell that kind of earnestness to a sophisticated audience anymore."

It remains to be seen if Warner Bros. is, indeed, still interested and if this current project, with Nolan "godfathering" the development, might be different enough to change Snyder's mind.

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Yesterday, we saw Darren Aronofsky deflect the rumor he might be directing the "Wolverine" sequel.

Today, The Los Angeles Times adds him to the list of possible "Superman" directors. "There would also be questions about how the relationship would work between two strong-willed auteurs like Aronofsky and Nolan. And the 'Wrestler' director has famously resisted taking on bigger-budget studio pictures in the interest of retaining creative control," they write. "He and Nolan have had similar roots, if vastly different trajectories. Both gained acclaim for low-budget indies that told fractured stories (Nolan with "Following" and Aronofsky with "Pi") and have continued to maintain an auteur vision even as they worked with bigger stars.

If Warner Bros. and financier Legendary are going to give Nolan a significant degree of creative freedom, it makes sense to go with someone who knows how to make the most of that." Of course, the interesting wrinkle here is Aronofsky's own history with Batman. The director developed a "year one" style picture for Warner Bros before Nolan came on to make "Batman Begins."

Meanwhile, Moviehole hears word the director could bring a star with him -- Natalie Portman as Lois Lane. "A friend that worked on "Black Swan" with Mr Aronofsky tells us that the filmmaker has actually "been talking about this for a while" and that they don't think talks have "progressed beyond the suggestion of having Nat[alie Portman] be Lois. They wanted her first time around, this time they can get her - with Darren. But who knows where that's at now," writes Moviehole's Clint Morris. If these two names could be locked in, it would give the whole production a huge boost.

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