Ben Affleck is stepping into the lead role of Netflix’s upcoming crime thriller Animals, replacing longtime collaborator Matt Damon, who was originally set to star.
The switch isn’t a creative break-up so much as a scheduling reshuffle: Damon bowed out due to conflicts with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, while Affleck remains in place as the film’s director.
Just as importantly, Damon isn’t exiting the project entirely. He’s still attached as a producer through Artists Equity—the studio he co-founded with Affleck—keeping their partnership intact even as Affleck moves from behind the camera to front and center.
Why Affleck is starring now (and why Damon stepped back)
Animals was initially announced as an Affleck-directed thriller with Damon in the lead, but the production timetable ultimately didn’t align with Damon’s other commitments.
Coverage of the casting shift points to Damon’s Odyssey schedule as the key reason for the change, with Affleck taking over the starring slot rather than delaying the film’s start.
That move is also in line with the way Affleck has operated in recent years—balancing directing with acting when the project is built around his own production infrastructure.
Netflix, for its part, is partnering with Artists Equity on the film, reinforcing that this is a studio-forward project for Affleck, not a one-off acting gig.
What we know about Animals so far
Netflix has framed Animals as a kidnapping thriller set in Los Angeles, with the city meant to feel like a core part of the story. The film follows a mayoral candidate and his wife who are forced into desperate measures after their son is kidnapped—a setup that positions the thriller stakes inside a high-pressure political campaign.
The cast is notably stacked. Netflix Tudum lists Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Adriana Paz, Ray Fisher and more alongside Affleck.
The screenplay is credited to Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray (with reporting also describing Ray as revising the script), and Netflix confirmed the project is in production with Affleck directing and starring.
For now, Netflix hasn’t announced a release date—but with Affleck now doubling as director and lead actor, Animals has quickly become one of the streamer’s more closely watched prestige-thriller plays on the horizon.
