Ben Affleck’s directing chops will be on display again with Netflix’s Animals, the 2026 movie release about a mayoral candidate dealing with his kid's kidnapping. You may not know it, but the original plan was for his buddy and frequent collaborator Matt Damon to star in the movie while Affleck himself would stay behind the camera. Damon said "no" to his pal in order to film The Odyssey, and I’m cracking up over Affleck trolling him for that.
When Ben Affleck decided to get the ball rolling on his Netflix film in February of this year, Matt Damon, who was the original lead, had also re-teamed with Christopher Nolan for The Odyssey. This led Ben Affleck to ultimately take on the lead role, but it sounds like he's still a little salty about the changes.
Or at least he's not willing to let his pal off lightly, as the Chasing Amy actor roasted his Good Willing Hunting co-star for choosing Nolan and replacing him as the lead in an interview with EW:
Matt was unfortunately doing another lesser film, obviously, with Odyssey. He chose a smaller director and a smaller film and a smaller role for his career, and I think he’s gonna suffer for it. He’ll regret this choice. A better actor had to play the part, naturally.
Well, Matt, how do you like them apples?
Listen, Ben, that “lesser film” earned the box office crown after grossing $1,696 billion worldwide, landing the highest box office this year until Spider-Man: Brand New Day took over the record. This isn't the first time Affleck's taken some cracks at The Odyssey lead either. Now I understand more why The Town star/director would rip on the Saving Private Ryan star for getting in shape for The Odyssey and having “superior facial hair” compared to his Odysseus beard. This type of celebrity roasting is always entertaining to witness.
Why Did Matt Damon Say Yes To Animals And Then Back Out?
This all goes back to 2024. As I noted, Affleck, of course, wanted his best friend Damon to portray Animals’ lead, Mark Kimball, after the two had “the best work experience” starring in Air. Even his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, was originally going to be cast. (So, Affleck's been dealing with ALL the back outs.)
Then, two weeks into filming, the Gone Girl director heard Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest (streaming on your Apple TV+ subscription) was also being done, which had a similar plot. So, they put the project on hold for a time.
While The Martian actor may have missed out on tag-teaming with his best friend for the revived Netflix flick, I don’t think Damon will be suffering. I can see him getting a lot of attention during the next awards season for his talented portrayal of Odysseus. If that holds true, I'm sure Affleck will be there to cheer him on... as well as humorously never letting him forget ditching his Netflix movie.
Even though Matt Damon and Ben Affleck couldn’t collaborate on Animals as originally planned, at least the two got to reunite for another Netflix movie, The Rip. While filming the intense thriller came before the rescheduled production of Animals was to start, it was still considered a touching experience for the actor pals, as they've started working together again more recently on projects like this one, Air and The Last Duel.
We may have to wait a bit for the next gig together, but you can still see The Odyssey in theaters now. You can check out Animals with your Netflix subscription and in select theaters on October 9th.
