Despite rumors that "Man of Steel 2" is on permanent hold — with the title's obvious absence from the DC five-year movie schedule — fans are clinging to the hope that it will still get made if "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" kills it in the box office. More so, they are holding on to the notion that a director has already been named. Unfortunately, that same director has just denied any involvement in the film.  

Back in August, word was strong that "Mad Max: Fury Road" director George Miller had been approached to helm the "Man of Steel" sequel. Aside from numerous buzz on several websites, "The Death of 'Superman Lives'" producer Jon Schnepp magnified the rumor via a DC podcast. Only now does everyone get a direct word about it from Miller himself. Sadly, it's not good news. 

Miller spoke with Digital Spy, where he admitted that he had been approached about "Man of Steel 2." But he also admitted that the talks had been very minimal. 

"There's been some of that in the mix, but I'd say [it's] probably not true. I was going to do a 'Justice League' movie that fell through in 2009. [It was] not a fault of anybody involved except the new Australian government wasn't agile enough with their rebates and were indecisive, and there was a writers strike. The planets didn't align for that one," he explained. 

That may be bad news for those looking forward to a Miller-helmed Superman film but a bit of good news for fans looking forward to another movie centering on the Man of Steel. They can at least rest in the fact that Miller did not say the movie has been cancelled. This still keeps the hope alive of another standalone Superman flick. 

In the meantime, DC fans can look forward to seeing Clark Kent on the big screen with "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which hits theaters on March 25, 2016.