After being put on hold due to scheduling conflicts, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Netflix movie Animals is back in development. A filming schedule has been revealed, and Gillian Anderson has been cast to star alongside Affleck. Here’s everything we know so far.
Netflix’s Animals will be directed by Ben Affleck himself, whose directing credits include the award-winning movies Air and Argo. Connor McIntyre penned the script with revisions by Billy Ray (The Hunger Games, Terminator: Dark Fate).
The film will be produced by Affleck, Damon, Dani Bernfeld of Artists Equity, Brad Weston, and Collin Creighton of MakeReady, who developed the project in partnership with Fifth Season.
What’s the production status of Animals?
Filming was meant to get underway in 2024; however, an update on June 18th, 2024 revealed the film had been put on hold due to scheduling conflicts with The Accountant 2.
However, we’ve recently learned that filming is expected to begin in March 2025 and end sometime in April 2025.
What’s the plot of Animals?
The plot for Netflix’s Animals remains tightly under wraps. The only thing that’s known to us is that it’s a thriller and it revolves around a kidnapping.
Here’s the logline for Netflix’s Animals:
When the son of L.A. Mayoral Candidate Milo Bradford (Damon) is kidnapped, he and his wife have a few hours to come up with the ransom payment. With most of their money spent on his political campaign, they have to get their hands dirty and exposing a side of their lives they never intended to see the light of day.
Who is cast in Animals?
Ben Affleck will star in Animals and is joined by Emmy Award-winning actress Gillian Anderson.
Affleck has produced, directed, and starred in some great films. Some of his best acting performances have been in films such as Argo, Good Will Hunting, and David Fincher’s Gone Girl. He will also be starring alongside longtime friend Matt Damon in Netflix’s upcoming film RIP.
Picture: Matt Damon (left) and Ben Affleck (right) in RIP – Netflix
Gillian Anderson is no stranger to Netflix, thanks to her performances in Sex Education, The Crown, The Pale Blue Eye, and Scoop. She will also be seen in Netflix’s upcoming series The Abandons.
Early last year, The Insneider reported that Jennifer Garner was “in talks” for a starring role in the film. However, given the casting of Gillian Anderson, it remains unclear if Garner will now star.
On February 10th, 2025, Netflix announced that Steven Yeun and Kerry Washington had joined the cast. Yeun is arguably best known for his role as Glenn Rhee in The Walking Dead. He’s not a stranger to Netflix, either, having starred in several originals, such as Trollhunters, Voltron, 3Below, Wizards, Final Space, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson and the Emmy Award-winning Beef.
Picture: Steven Yeun in Beef – Netflix
Kerry Washington was recently seen in Tyler Perry’s war film The Six Triple Eight, where she played the role of Major Adams. She also starred in The Prom and The School for Good and Evil. Outside of Netflix, she is most well known for her roles as Olivia Pope in Scandal and Broomhilda von Shaft in Django Unchained.
Picture: Kerry Washington as Major Charity Adams in The Six Triple Eight – Netflix
What’s the Netflix release date for Animals?
A release date for Animals has yet to be announced. Given that filming is scheduled to begin in March, this suggests that a 2025 release is optimistic. We’d expect to see Animals on Netflix sometime in 2026.
Are you disappointed that Animals has been put on hold? Let us know in the comments below!
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