'Batman vs. Superman' movie not delayed after all?

Warner Bros. announced last week that production on Zack Snyder's highly anticipated Man of Steel sequel, Batman vs. Superman, has been delayed. The studio pushed back the film nearly one year to May 6, 2016 from its original release date of July 17, 2015. But a new report claims that the studio may have changed its mind and that the film could be on track for its originally scheduled release.

Deadline reports that Fox's high-profile drama project The Middle Man, which has a pilot order on the network and has been on track to become a full series under Fox's new development model, has been delayed because, of all things, Batman vs. Superman:

"Oscar winner Ben Affleck, who was set to helm in his pilot directing debut, had to pull out because of scheduling issues with Zack Snyder's Batman vs. Superman movie, in which Affleck plays Batman. While Warner Bros. recently pushed the release date for the movie from 2015 to 2016, word is that production is not being delayed and the main players have been summoned to start work right away."

The report goes on to state that Affleck has other film commitments in the spring, when The Middle Man pilot is scheduled to begin shooting, Casting on the show was "well under way" with auditions already scheduled, but all of that has been put on hold until Fox figures out what to do. The two options, according to Deadline, are to bring in a new director for the pilot or wait for Affleck to be available.

Deadline does not elaborate or venture a guess as to why Warner Bros. would suddenly change its mind and revert to the original scheduling just one week after it announced a nearly yearlong delay.

Check back with MStars for more on this story as it develops.