One of Hollywood’s most prolific duos is reuniting for Netflix.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are preparing to team up on a crime feature called Animals written by Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray. Details surrounding the project are scarce at the moment, but the magazine writes that it will focus on a politician whose child gets abducted.
Per THR, “Surrounded by plenty of enemies, political and otherwise, the husband and wife have no choice but to get their hands dirty in order to save their son.”
Damon will star in the film, while Affleck will work strictly behind the camera as director. Animals will mark the seventh Affleck-directed movie, following titles like Gone Baby Gone (2007), The Town (2010), and the Academy Award-winning Argo (2012).
Animals will also extend Affleck and Damon’s decades-long working relationship, as they first shared the screen back in 1992’s School Ties. (They also served as uncredited extras in 1989’s Field of Dreams.) Since then, the two have joined forces on movies such as The Last Duel, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Good Will Hunting, which earned the Best Original Screenplay award at the 1998 Oscars.
Their most recent collaboration was 2023’s Air, a biographical sports drama about the origins of Nike’s Air Jordan. Damon portrayed legendary marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro, while Affleck directed in addition to playing Nike founder Phil Knight.
Affleck reflected on his relationship with Damon in a 2023 interview with THR.
“I suppose the reason it works is that I trust him and love him, and I know that this is somebody with integrity,” he said. “In this business, failure is hard, and success is confusing and can make you lose your bearings. Having that friendship as a touchstone over the years was really meaningful.”
Affleck, Damon, and Dani Bernfeld will produce Animals under the Artist Equity company. The partners will reportedly share the profits with all of the actors as well as the “below-the-line” crew.”
