By Mashable | Created at 2026-08-12 14:40:44 | Updated at 2026-08-12 15:17:09
52 minutes ago
Affleck returns to the director's chair for Netflix's political thriller "Animals."
By
Belen Edwards
Entertainment Reporter
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
on August 12, 2026
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As a director, Ben Affleck has made himself at home in the thriller genre thanks to projects like Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and the Academy Award-winning Argo. In his next film Animals, coming this October to Netflix, he continues the trend with a tense political thriller.
Written by Connor O. McIntyre, Billy Ray, and Ben Affleck, the film also stars Affleck as Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball. When he and his wife Abigail (Kerry Washington) learn that their son has been kidnapped, they must scramble to pay the ransom, all while facing intense public scrutiny. As they fall deeper into a web of deception, they'll learn dark secrets and contemplate choices that could upend the life they've built together.
In addition to Affleck and Washington, Animals' impressive cast also stars Beef's Steven Yeun and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma's Gillian Anderson, who is seen in the teaser arriving on the scene in an all-white power suit. But is she coming to the rescue, or is she part of the reason Mark is in trouble?
Animals isn't Affleck's first collaboration with Netflix this year. In January, he starred alongside Matt Damon in crime thriller The Rip. Netflix also acquired Affleck's AI startup InterPositive in March, paying $587 million in cash for the company.
Animals premieres Oct. 9 on Netflix.
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
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