Matt Damon & Ben Affleck Reteaming On Kidnapping Tale ‘Animals’ For Netflix; Makeready, Artists Equity & Fifth Season Producing

Justin Kroll

25 January 2024 at 12:30 pm·1-min read

Following the success of Air, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are reuniting again on the kidnapping thriller Animals, with Damon starring and Affleck directing. Connor McIntyre penned the script with revisions by Billy Ray. The film will be produced by Affleck, Damon and Dani Bernfeld of Artists Equity and Brad Weston and Collin Creighton of MakeReady, who developed the project in partnership with Fifth Season.

Plot details are vague outside of it revolving around a kidnapping. Artists Equity’s Michael Joe and Kevin Halloran will serve as executive producers alongside Fifth Season. Damon, Affleck and Artists Equity most recently worked together on Air, which earned rave reviews and is one of Amazon’s biggest theatrical hits in the studio’s history with $90 million at the global box office.

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While Affleck is expected to reprise his role in the sequel to his hit movie The Accountant, the multihyphenate had been weighing a couple of directing options prior to that shoot and ultimately landed on Animals. Once Damon was attached to star, Netflix was quick to board in order to meet Affleck’s busy schedule where he could shoot this film and then follow it up with the Accountant sequel later this year.

Damon had his own busy year in 2023, not only starring in Air but also appearing in the smash hit Oppenheimer, which just earned 13 Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

Affleck, Damon and McIntyre are repped by WME.

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