Ben Affleck talks about the possibility of directing his own Batman movie

When Ben Affleck signed on to play Batman in Zack Snyder’s superhero mash-up “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,� it didn’t take long for speculation to start swirling that he was interested in more than just putting on the Dark Knight’s cape and cowl.

Having established himself as a successful director in his own right with films such as “The Town� and “Argo,� many wondered, did Affleck see “Batman v Superman� as a stepping stone to eventually directing his own stand-alone Batman movie?

Neither Affleck nor Warner Bros. has officially confirmed reports of such a plan. But speaking with The Times recently alongside Snyder and co-star Henry Cavill, the actor acknowledged that part of his motivation from the outset for joining “Batman v Superman,� which hits theaters March 25, was to get an up-close preview of what it would be like to be at the helm of a big-budget comic-book movie.

“Wanting at some point to direct one of these movies, I didn’t think I was going to have a better chance to learn on set and watch how they’re made now,� Affleck said.

Watching Snyder work on set seems to have only further stoked Affleck’s desire to get behind the camera.

“One of the things that I was afraid of was that it would be just incredibly boring and technical and mind-numbing,� Affleck said. “Instead, I saw that auteur filmmakers can exert their voice in a movie like this, even if it has 2,000 effects shots.�

Indeed, as the director of a Batman movie, Affleck would clearly be able to exert far greater control over the depiction of the character than he has solely as an actor.

“The director plays a lot of Batman for you,� Affleck said. “The director creates the world. The Batmobile, the Batcave, a lot of the stunts – a lot of that is the director’s actual work. [As an actor], you play Bruce Wayne.�

All that said, at this point there is still no stand-alone Batman movie officially scheduled on Warner Bros.’ DC Expanded Universe slate, and Affleck – who is currently in post-production on his period crime film “Live by Night� – insisted he hasn’t committed himself one way or the other.

“I’m definitely a one-at-a-time guy,� he said. “I’m editing ‘Live by Night’ now. When I finish that, I’ll figure out what I’m going to do next.�

Twitter: @joshrottenberg