Jennifer Garner Joining Ex Ben Affleck’s Crime Thriller
Jennifer Garner looks set for an on-screen reunion with ex-husband Ben Affleck in his upcoming directorial effort Animals. Garner has entered talks to star alongside Matt Damon in the crime thriller being made for Netflix. Though once married from 2005 to 2018, this project marks the first time Garner was directed by Affleck.
Affleck and Damon produce Animals through their Artists Equity banner, collaborating with Damon’s longtime production partner Brad Weston of Makeready. Oscar-nominated screenwriter Billy Ray (Captain Phillips) provides the latest draft of the script initially written by Connor McIntyre. Plot details remain secretive for now, but the story follows a married couple forced into drastic measures when their son gets kidnapped.
Damon has already signed on to play the husband, a mayoral candidate surrounded by ruthless enemies. Garner would feature as the wife who must work alongside her husband despite their dissolving marriage. Given Garner’s range across various genres, she seems an intriguing choice to embody a complex spouse pushed to her limits. Fans excited to see the former couple reunited onscreen will surely follow this casting news closely.
While Affleck and Garner divorced back in 2018, they’ve remained amicable co-parents to their three children. They’ve pursued independent careers since splitting, with Garner sticking mostly to Netflix productions lately. She starred in family comedies like Yes Day as well as the sci-fi adventure The Adam Project. This latest collaboration with Affleck on Animals marks new territory for the former spouses.
Alongside Garner and Damon, few other casting details emerged yet about Animals. Shooting scheduling is still undergoing finalization as well, though production eyes a March start in Los Angeles. Netflix has yet to announce a release date for the crime thriller either. Still, with Damon and potentially Garner starring under friend Affleck’s direction, expectations already run high for this mysterious project.