Yahoo Lifestyle Ben Affleck replaces pal Matt Damon to star in crime thriller “Animals”
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Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in 2023Ben Affleck is set to star in the next directorial project from — Ben Affleck.
The Argo filmmaker-star will now play the lead role in Animals, the Netflix thriller he was already set to direct, Entertainment Weekly has learned. His friend and frequent collaborator, Matt Damon, was originally attached to the role and is still producing alongside Affleck and Dani Bernfeld through their Artists Equity studio. Damon's commitment to shooting Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey meant that he ultimately wasn't available for Affleck's intended timetable for Animals, according to Deadline.
X-Files star Gillian Anderson is set to play the female lead in the project. THR reported last year that Affleck's ex-wife Jennifer Garner was circling the role.
The plot reportedly revolves around a mayoral candidate and his wife who grapple with the kidnapping of their son. Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray (Captain Phillips, The Hunger Games) are penning the screenplay for the film.
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Gillian Anderson in 2024Affleck will next star in The Accountant 2. And if you're bummed about the Justice League star missing out on another project with his best buddy from Boston, fear not: Affleck and Damon are still set to costar in Netflix's forthcoming RIP, a crime thriller from Joe Carnahan that also stars Steven Yeun, Kyle Chandler, and Teyana Taylor.
Related: A new Ben Affleck–Matt Damon collab is coming: Here are all their projects together so far
Affleck and Damon each won an Academy Award for co-writing Good Will Hunting in 1998. The Daredevil star then began his directorial career with 2007's Gone Baby Gone, which starred his brother, Casey Affleck (and is the only one of his directorial projects that he didn't act in). The film received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Oscars for Amy Ryan. Affleck's next directorial project, 2010's The Town, earned a Best Supporting Actor nom for Jeremy Renner.
Related: The 11 wicked best Boston movies
The filmmaker won his next Oscar for his third directorial film, Argo, which won Best Picture at the 2013 Academy Awards, as well as awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing. He went on to helm 2016's Live By Night and 2023's Air, the latter of which starred Damon.
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Anderson recently appeared in the 2024 dramas White Bird, Scoop, and The Salt Path. She'll next appear opposite Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, and Jodie Turner-Smith in Tron: Ares.
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