Casey Affleck says “Midnight Run” inspired him to co-write Boston-set heist flick costarring Matt Damon

See the first look at 'The Instigators,' also starring Hong Chau and directed by Doug Liman, who last worked with Damon on "The Bourne Identity."

Fresh off playing military men in Oppenheimer, Matt Damon and Casey Affleck are teaming up again onscreen for a very different kind of mission: stealing from a corrupt politician.

Co-written by Affleck, The Instigators sees the duo returning to their Boston roots for the upcoming heist flick, and Entertainment Weekly has the exclusive first look. Affleck says the Apple TV+ original is inspired by some of his favorites. "The inspiration for this was definitely Midnight Run and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," says the actor, adding that he'd always "wanted to do a buddy action comedy."

Damon costars as Rory, a desperate father who reluctantly joins forces with Cobby (Affleck), an ex-con, "to pull off a robbery of the ill-gained earnings of a corrupt politician," per the official synopsis. When the heist inevitably goes sideways, the unlikely pair "find themselves engulfed in a whirlwind of chaos, pursued not only by the police but also backward bureaucrats and vengeful crime bosses." Along the way, they somehow convince Rory's therapist (Hong Chau) to join their "riotous getaway."

Or, as Affleck puts it, "The Instigators is about two strangers who are hired for a heist. They become frenemies and then become friends while Jack Harlow yells at us, Paul Walter Hauser insults us, Ving Rhames hunts us, and Hong Chau keeps us alive."

Not only was the movie a homecoming of sorts for the two famous Bostonians, but the film also reunited Damon with director Doug Liman for the first time since 2002's The Bourne Identity. "Casey Affleck and [co-writer] Chuck MacLean had created some great characters and a really fun world," Damon says of what drew him to the project. "More than anything, it was a chance to work with Doug and Casey together that I was the most excited about. And it’s always great to go back to Boston."

Of reteaming with Liman, Damon adds, "I absolutely love working with Doug. I can’t believe it took us 20 years to find something else to do together. Doug is one of the most creatively tenacious people I’ve ever met. He just won’t stop until the movie is as good as it can be, and that is the best possible thing you can feel from a director. I trust him completely."

"It was so fulfilling to see how each of us has grown," adds Liman. "And by that, I mean to see how much Matt has grown. And not just as an actor."

Friends since grade school, Affleck and Damon lived together, along with Casey's brother and fellow actor, Ben, when they were up-and-comers trying to make it big in Hollywood. Asked what it was like working with two longtime partners in crime, Liman says, "Like I was parachuted into a family." He adds, "With Bourne, I was inviting Matt into my world. But with Instigators, I was very clear being dropped into Matt’s family. And all that history, good and bad, is on the screen."

The Instigators hits select theaters on Aug. 2 before streaming globally on Apple TV+ on Aug. 9.

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