Why Ben Affleck canceled plan to cast Jennifer Garner in his new movie

Why Ben Affleck canceled plan to cast Jennifer Garner in his new movie.

Key points

• Affleck and Garner were married from 2005 to 2018, and they share three children: Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 14.
• Matt Damon and Ben Affleck explain their thoughts on social media and how they build trust with actors in their latest film.
• "I thought, God, Jen Garner would be amazing for this role, " Affleck informed EW.
• "Animals" stars Affleck as a candidate for Los Angeles mayor whose son is kidnapped.

Why Ben Affleck canceled plan to cast Jennifer Garner in his new movie. Brendan Morrow USA TODAY. Damon and Affleck on social media and acting.

Ben Affleck's latest movie was almost a reunion with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.

In practice, the "Gone Girl" star, 54, made public in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he was planning for Garner to star in his latest directorial effort, the kidnapping thriller "Animals." But after they mutually agreed on a change of aims, he wound up recasting the role with Kerry Washington.

Garner would have played the wife of the lead character. This person was originally set to be portrayed by Matt Damon.

"I thought, God, Jen Garner would be amazing for this role, " Affleck informed EW. "It additionally has the went on benefit of, like, both of us will see our kids more since we do a week and a week and back and forth. I thought, well, we can coordinate our schedules around it."

But things changed after Affleck pulled the plug on the movie just two weeks before production was to start since he learned Spike Lee was working on his own kidnapping thriller, the Denzel Washington starrer "Highest 2 Lowest, " and he feared the two films were too similar.

Affleck decided he wouldn't create the movie, but a few months afterwards, he had a change of heart and decided to revisit the project. Jennifer Garner reveals family 'upheaval' after Ben Affleck divorce.

By the time the movie obtained back on track, though, Damon was no longer available to star as he was busy making "The Odyssey, " so Affleck stepped in to play the lead role himself. That created an matter: Affleck and Garner would now be playing a married couple in a movie that deals with marital difficulties, an idea that neither of them was comfortable with.

"I talked to Jen, and she was like, 'We don't wanna do that. You just obtain baggage, '" Affleck informed EW.

Affleck observed he still hopes to work with Garner going forward on a project without the same kind of meta component that "Animals" would have had.

Jennifer Garner admits split from Ben Affleck was 'hard' on their family.

"I would love to work with her, frankly, " he informed the outlet. "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 going forward, but what you don't wanna do is take the audience's baggage and have it work against you, you know?"

According to Affleck has, he and Garner have remained on good terms since their divorce.

Speaking on "The Howard Stern Show" in December 2021, he described Garner as "somebody I love and respect, but to whom I shouldn't be married any longer, " adding that they "tried" to avoid divorce but didn't want "this to be the model that our kids see of marriage."

"We did it amicably, " he remarked of their divorce. "We did our best. Did we have moments of tension? Did we have disagreements over the custody? Was stuff tough for us? Did we obtain angry? Yes. But fundamentally, it was always underpinned with a respect. I knew she was a good mom."

"Animals" stars Affleck as a candidate for Los Angeles mayor whose son is kidnapped. The film, which additionally stars Gillian Anderson and Steven Yeun, marks Affleck's first movie as a director since 2023's "Air." It releases on Netflix on Oct. 9.

Speaking with Netflix's "Tudum, " Affleck remarked the movie is "really about marriage – what it means to attach yourself to someone, the bargains and exchanges." Share your feedback to assist improve our site!

Taken together, the developments around why Ben Affleck canceled plan to cast Jennifer Garner in his new point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.