The boys are back: Ben Affleck is directing Animals, starring Matt Damon. Written by Colin McIntyre and Billy Ray, the brand-new thriller is coming soon to Netflix.   

This marks only the second time Damon has appeared in a film directed by Affleck: In 2023’s Air, Damon played Nike talent scout Sonny Vaccaro, who lands Michael Jordan for a groundbreaking sponsorship deal.

Still, the longtime friends have a history of collaboration. In 1997, Damon and Affleck co-starred in and co-wrote Good Will Hunting; their screenplay went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Since then, the duo have made several brief appearances together (usually in pal Kevin Smith’s films) but largely flourished in parallel blockbuster careers. That is, until a recent on-screen reunion in 2021’s The Last Duel. 

In an interview with Chris Wallace, Damon explained why you can expect to see a lot more of the two actors together in the future — all thanks to a viewing of Peter Jackson’s nearly eight-hour documentary series The Beatles: Get Back. 

“At the end, they’re playing on the roof in London, and it says this is the last time that they ever played together live, and it made me so sad. Because you look at them and they’re so happy," Damon said. “Then I called [Ben] and I said, ‘Look, man, we were talking about doing this and it’s like, it’s been 25 years or something since Good Will Hunting, what are we doing?’ You know, we both kind of hit the lottery. Why aren’t we working together more often?”

Now they are. Stay tuned for more information as Animals production ramps up.