Ben Affleck is back in the director’s chair. Animals, the crime thriller he directs, co-writes and stars in alongside Kerry Washington, releases on Netflix and in select U.S. theaters on October 9, 2026. It is Affleck’s first directing effort since Air (2023) — and the film comes with one of the most unusual behind-the-scenes stories of the year.
What Is ‘Animals’ About? Plot, Cast and Release Date
The official synopsis: when the son of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball is kidnapped, he and his wife have a few hours to come up with the ransom payment. With most of their money spent on the political campaign, the couple has to get their hands dirty — and expose a side of their lives they never intended to see the light of day.
Affleck stars as Mark Kimball and Kerry Washington plays his wife Abigail. The cast also includes Gillian Anderson as Dayle, a mysterious fixer who brings an unsettling presence to the crisis, plus Steven Yeun, Adriana Paz, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Ray Fisher and Matt Gerald, according to Netflix materials and Wikipedia. The film runs 106 minutes and carries an R rating.
Affleck and Washington have been on a charm offensive ahead of the release. In a video posted to Washington’s TikTok page, the pair recreated the famous “How do you like them apples?” Good Will Hunting window scene — with Washington mouthing Damon’s lines and swapping Skylar’s phone number for an “Animals October 9th Netflix” card, per Entertainment Weekly. The two also appeared together at a fan event in Mexico City on Oct. 4.
Matt Damon Was Originally the Star — Then the Schedule Collided
Animals was originally set up as a reunion project for Affleck and his longtime friend and business partner Matt Damon. Damon was cast to play Mark Kimball — but he exited due to a scheduling conflict with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and Affleck took the lead role himself. Damon stayed on as a producer through Artists Equity, the company the two founded together.
The casting shuffle nearly led to another headline-grabbing reunion. Affleck almost cast ex-wife Jennifer Garner as Abigail back when Damon was still attached as the lead. According to Pixel Twelve’s reporting on Affleck’s remarks, once Damon exited and Affleck became Mark, the pair agreed that playing a married couple would bring “too much baggage.”
The Production Was Shut Down Weeks Before Filming — Over Spike Lee
The film’s most unusual chapter: production was shut down just weeks before cameras were set to roll. Affleck recognized thematic similarities with Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington — a kidnapping thriller with overlapping territory. Rather than make a film that felt too similar, Affleck paused everything and reworked the story, The Week reported.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Affleck recalled recognizing the overlap and choosing to delay and retool rather than release something redundant. The result is a completely fictional, original screenplay co-written by Connor O. McIntyre, Billy Ray and Affleck himself.
The AI Controversy: Affleck Used AI “for Lots of Things” in Post-Production
At Bloomberg’s Screentime event on Oct. 1, Affleck confirmed he used AI extensively in Animals — mostly in post-production to speed up work — using tools from his InterPositive startup, which Netflix now owns. He called Animals “a very human movie,” but the disclosure has raised questions about consent, compensation and studio control of creative workflows, as coverage of the event noted.
It is a striking turn for an actor who, in earlier years, publicly voiced concern about artificial intelligence as a threat to creative work. In 2022 he founded the AI company; by 2025 it had been sold to Netflix; now its technology has been used in his own film. At junkets, Affleck has framed the tools as accelerants for human creativity rather than replacements.
The Mexico Connection: Méndez and Paz “Wrote Their Scenes”
Affleck has repeatedly credited his Mexican co-stars with shaping the film. Luis Gerardo Méndez and Adriana Paz didn’t just act, he says — they “wrote their scenes” and were effectively “co-filmmakers” with him. The film held a major fan event in Mexico City on Oct. 4, attended by Affleck, Washington, Paz and Méndez, alongside producers Matt Damon and his wife Luciana, per Just Jared.
At the Los Angeles premiere, Affleck said the film explores the social “masks” powerful people wear, and that the story is built around characters pushed into extreme moral dilemmas. The Week has also noted the film’s thematic link to David Fincher’s Gone Girl — both are built on the concept of the masks people wear in relationships and public life — though Animals is a straightforward thriller where Gone Girl was a satire with dark undertones.
Animals on Netflix: When and Where to Watch
- Netflix streaming: Friday, October 9, 2026
- Select U.S. theaters: October 9, 2026 (limited release)
- Runtime: 106 minutes
- Rating: R
- Director: Ben Affleck
- Writers: Connor O. McIntyre, Billy Ray, Ben Affleck
- Producers: Artists Equity, Makeready, Fifth Season
Read next: ‘Unabomber’ Netflix 2026: Everything We Know and ‘Primetime’ Starring Robert Pattinson: Box Office Preview
FAQ
When does ‘Animals’ release on Netflix?
Animals streams on Netflix and opens in select U.S. theaters on October 9, 2026.
Who is in the cast of ‘Animals’?
Ben Affleck stars as Mark Kimball and Kerry Washington plays his wife Abigail. The cast also includes Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Adriana Paz, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Ray Fisher and Matt Gerald.
Why did Matt Damon leave ‘Animals’?
Matt Damon was originally set to play Mark Kimball but exited due to a scheduling conflict with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Affleck took the lead role himself, and Damon stayed on as a producer through Artists Equity.
Why was ‘Animals’ production shut down?
Affleck paused production weeks before filming when he recognized thematic similarities with Spike Lee’s kidnapping thriller Highest 2 Lowest. He retooled the story rather than release something too similar, according to The Week.
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