Ben Affleck’s upcoming Netflix crime thriller Animals nearly featured a major on-screen reunion with Jennifer Garner — until the project’s shifting cast and Affleck’s own move into the lead role changed the equation.
Affleck, who co-wrote, directed and stars in the film, told Entertainment Weekly that Garner was originally in line to play Abigail, the wife of Mark Kimball, before the movie was reconfigured. Animals premieres Oct. 9 on Netflix.
The casting would have paired Affleck with his ex-wife in a story centered on Mark, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose son is kidnapped. In the finished film, Affleck plays Mark, while Kerry Washington plays Abigail. The crisis forces the couple into a frantic race to gather ransom money within a matter of hours.
A role Affleck thought Garner could surprise audiences with
According to Affleck, Garner came to mind early for Abigail, at a point when Matt Damon was still set to play Mark. Affleck said he believed the role could offer Garner something different from what audiences had already seen from her.
“I thought, God, Jen Garner would be amazing for this role,” Affleck told Entertainment Weekly. “It also has the added benefit of, like, both of us will see our kids more because we do a week and a week and back and forth. I thought, well, we can coordinate our schedules around it.”
He added, “She can bring something interesting that she hasn’t [done], that I kind of know she can do, that I don’t think she had a chance to do in one movie.”
But that version of Animals did not move forward. Affleck said he halted the production two weeks before filming was set to begin because another kidnapping thriller was on the way: A24’s Spike Lee film Highest 2 Lowest.
“It’s hard enough to make a good movie. You don’t need those kinds of headwinds,” Affleck said.
How Affleck ended up in the lead role
A few months later, Affleck’s interest in Animals brought the project back to life, but the earlier casting plan no longer held. Damon, whom Affleck described as a pal, was unavailable because he was working with Christopher Nolan on Odyssey.
Affleck joked about Damon’s scheduling conflict, saying, “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.”
He then added, “A better actor had to play the part, naturally.”
Once Affleck decided to play Mark himself, the idea of Garner playing his on-screen wife became more complicated. Affleck said he spoke with Garner, and she was direct about the potential downside of putting their real-life history in front of the audience.
“I talked to Jen, and she was like, ‘We don’t wanna do that. You just get baggage,’” Affleck recalled.
Affleck emphasized that the decision was not about any lack of interest in collaborating with Garner. In fact, he said the opposite.
“I would love to work with her, frankly,” he said. “She’s fabulous, and we’re really good friends, and I’m profoundly grateful to her, and we have a great thing. I still would wanna work with her in the future, but what you don’t wanna do is take the audience’s baggage and have it work against you, you know?”
Kerry Washington steps into Abigail
The role ultimately went to Kerry Washington. Affleck said the two got to know each other during the 2023 Hollywood strikes, and that connection helped lead to her casting in Animals.
“She’s very polished, but she’s also very warm. I thought, Oh my God, she’s amazing for this,” Affleck said.
Animals is co-written by Affleck, Connor O. McIntyre and Billy Ray. The film stars Affleck as Mark Kimball, with Washington as Abigail, in a story that puts a political candidate and his wife under extreme pressure after their son’s kidnapping.
For Affleck, the path to the finished version of Animals involved a near reunion with Garner, a pause caused by concerns over marketplace overlap, Damon’s exit from the lead role and Washington’s eventual casting. The film now arrives on Netflix Oct. 9 with Affleck not only behind the camera, but at the center of the story.