With less than two months to go before his Man of Steel hits the big screen, director Zack Snyder appears to be emerging as the frontrunner for a Justice League film. Empire (via JoBlo) claims that an offer depends wholly on Man of Steel‘s performance at the box office.

“Warner Bros.’ long-term view has been revised to embrace this new vision,” Empire writes, “just as the ‘Dark Knight’ films resisted the commodification of Marvel. Whether we get a ‘Justice League,’ they say, depends on ‘Man of Steel’. If we do, they say, Zack Snyder will be asked to direct.”

Assuming Man of Steel does incredible business, however, is no guarantee that Justice League plans will immediately materialize. Warner Bros. could ultimately decide to spend a bit more time building a shared cinematic universe or even attempt a smaller crossover first, like an often proposed Batman and Superman feature film.

Man of Steel, meanwhile, stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, Russell Crowe, Michael Kelly, Harry Lennix and Richard Schiff.

In the film, a young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Man of Steel will open in 3D, 2D and IMAX theaters nationwide on June 14.

(Photo Credit: DJDM / WENN.com)