Ben Affleck Reportedly Set to Direct Ex-Wife Jennifer Garner In An Upcoming Netflix Crime Thriller

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner.

Ben Affleck was the muse behind wife Jennifer Lopez’s sweeping project This Is Me…Now, which includes a new album, a musically infused film (both of which were released yesterday), and a forthcoming documentary about it all.

Now, reports are emerging that Affleck’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner will collaborate with him on a new project, which will also include Affleck’s longtime best friend Matt Damon. The film, a crime thriller called Animals, will appear on Netflix, The Hollywood Reporter writes, adding that Garner is currently in negotiations. 

Affleck and Garner were once one of Hollywood's hottest couples (Image credit: Getty Images)

Affleck is directing the film and is producing alongside Damon under their Artists Equity banner, the outlet reports. “Pieces are still being put together, including Garner’s deal, but if it all fits, the thriller could be before cameras in Los Angeles starting [in] March,” The Hollywood Reporter writes.

The plot centers around a mayoral candidate (to be played by Damon) and his wife (potentially played by Garner) whose son is kidnapped. “Surrounded by plenty of enemies, political and otherwise, the husband and wife have no choice but to get their hands dirty in order to save their son,” The Hollywood Reporter details. 

The couple, shown here in 2011, married in 2005 and divorced in 2018 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Affleck and Garner, here in 2013, share three children together, Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel (Image credit: Getty Images)

Garner is already a Netflix favorite, appearing in hits for the streaming service like Family Switch, The Adam Project, and Yes Day. Interestingly, Affleck and Garner have appeared together in three movies, all made before their 2005 marriage: 2001’s Pearl Harbor, 2003’s Daredevil, and that movie’s spinoff, Elektra, released in 2005. Though the former couple acted together in that trio of movies, Garner has never been directed by Affleck.

Affleck and Garner divorced in 2018 after 13 years of marriage and three children together.

The former couple appeared in three movies together, including 2003's "Daredevil"; Affleck and Garner are at a screening of the film here (Image credit: Getty Images)

The two at the 2003 premiere of "Daredevil," one of three films they starred in together, along with 2001's "Pearl Harbor" and 2005's "Elektra" (Image credit: Getty Images)

As for Affleck and Damon, the best friends are famous at this point for working together, beginning with their Oscar-winning debut Good Will Hunting in 1997 up to last year’s Nike drama Air. After the success of Good Will Hunting—for which the duo won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay—they considered going their separate ways professionally, but it didn’t quite shake out that way, People reports.

Affleck and Damon at this year's Golden Globes (Image credit: Getty Images)

“For a while, we thought maybe we should chill and just do other stuff, and not be Matt and Ben, Matt and Ben,” Affleck said in Boston Magazine (their shared hometown). “We have our company together, we’re developing together. And Matt lives down the street from me like he used to. His kids are living with him, the way we used to live with our folks. The only difference is that we have pools.”