‘Animals’: Ben Affleck Directorial Loses Matt Damon But Adds Gillian Anderson!!

It’s no secret that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are thick as thieves — the two have starred in several projects together and have even worked together as scribes on movies like Good Will Hunting. Last year it was announced that Affleck would direct Animals, a kidnapping thriller for Netflix with Damon attached to star, but the script was never properly ironed out and Netflix decided to move on from the project for the time being. Now, a new report from THR revealed that Animals has the green light once more, only this time, Affleck will also star in addition to directing, and he has also tapped Gillian Anderson to star alongside him. The film is reportedly angling to begin production in April later this year in Los Angeles, but it has not yet nailed down an official release date.

This news comes just a few months before Affleck is set to reprise his role as Christian Wolff in The Accountant 2, the sequel to the hit 2016 conspiracy thriller that also stars J.K. Simmons and Anna Kendrick. There has been no word of Kendrick’s involvement in The Accountant 2, but Simmons will reprise his role as Ray King alongside Jon Bernthal, who also starred in The Accountant as Brax. Damon and Affleck also likely aren’t kicking themselves that this project didn’t work out for the two of them; they have already been set to feature together in RIP, the upcoming police procedural/martial arts thriller that also stars Kyle Chandler. Joe Carnahan has been tapped to direct RIP, and he’ll also write the script along with Michael McGrale.

Matt Damon Is Busy With the Project of a Lifetime

More likely than not, the reason Damon is unable to star in Animals is due to his prior commitment to headline The Odyssey, the next film from Christopher Nolan that also stars Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, and more. The Odyssey is due to begin filming later this month and shoot around the world, which would certainly cause some scheduling issues for Animals, which is scheduled to kick off production in LA this April. Damon was the first name attached to star in The Odyssey, and after featuring in a supporting role in Oppenheimer for Nolan, this could be his chance to step into the spotlight as Cillian Murphy did with the 2023 biographical epic.