Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner might just be teaming up as amicable exes.
On Friday, February 16, it was reported that Garner, 51, was in talks to star in Affleck’s upcoming Netflix thriller, Animals, alongside frequent collaborator Matt Damon. The Hollywood Reporter was first to share the news, revealing that negotiations are in progress.
The publication also revealed that if everything comes together, Garner and Damon, 53, could start filming as early as next month.
Affleck, 51, is set to direct Animals, which was written by Connor McIntyre. Affleck and Damon are also set to produce the film.
The movie will follow a mayoral candidate — played by Damon — as his son is kidnapped. Garner would play the role of Damon’s wife, per THR.
While Garner and Affleck have starred together in various films over the years, including Pearl Harbor (2001), Daredevil (2003) and Elektra (2005), he has never directed his ex-wife.
Garner and Affleck were married for 10 years before they called it quits in June 2015. Garner officially filed for divorce in April 2017, and it was finalized more than a year later in October 2018.
“The truth was, we took our time, we made a decision, we grew apart,” Affleck admitted on The Howard Stern Show in December 2021. “We had a marriage that did not work. This happens. It is somebody I love and respect, but to whom I should not be married any longer. And then we said, ‘You know what? We tried. We tried because we had kids.’”
Throughout their separation and subsequent divorce, both Affleck and Garner have been vocal about coparenting their three kids, Violet, 18, Seraphina 15, and Samuel, 11.
A source even told Us Weekly in 2020 that coparenting was “always a work in progress” for the exes.
“Things come up between them, but they are committed to doing the best they can for the kids. They stay on top of things and have a lot of meetings and check-ins,” the insider added at the time. “They want to be the best parents they can for the kids. If they have differences, they keep it to themselves and don’t let it have an impact. They always put on happy faces for the kids and put their well-being first.”
Garner has been in a relationship with John Miller since 2018. Affleck, for his part, has since moved on with Jennifer Lopez, whom he married in August 2022.
