Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner nearly played a married couple in Animals. The idea began before Affleck was the film’s star: Matt Damon was set to play politician Mark Kimball, and Affleck wanted Garner as Mark’s wife, Abigail.
When Damon later left because of a scheduling conflict, Affleck took the lead role himself. He and Garner then agreed that playing spouses would bring too much of their real history into the movie.
Why was Jennifer Garner considered for Animals?
Affleck said he believed Garner could show audiences a side of her work they had not seen enough of. The plan also fit their family schedule because the former couple share three children and already coordinate their time.
At that stage, Damon was going to play Mark, so Garner would not have been acting opposite Affleck as his wife. Affleck was directing and co-writing the movie, while Damon was attached as the lead.
Why did Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner drop the idea?
The casting changed when Damon left and Affleck became Mark. Affleck and Garner discussed whether they wanted to play a married couple whose son is kidnapped and whose private secrets begin to surface. Garner’s answer was blunt: “We don’t wanna do that. You just get baggage.”
They decided viewers would bring their knowledge of the actors’ former marriage into every scene. Affleck said he still wants to work with Garner, but Animals was not the right project for that reunion.
How did Matt Damon leave the movie?
Animals was close to filming when Affleck learned that Spike Lee was making Highest 2 Lowest, another kidnapping story centered on a wealthy family. Production paused while the script was reconsidered. When the movie was ready to move again, Damon was committed to The Odyssey and could no longer fit Animals into his schedule.
Who replaced Jennifer Garner?
Kerry Washington now plays Abigail opposite Affleck. Gillian Anderson plays the fixer Dayle, with Steven Yeun, Adriana Paz, and Luis Gerardo Méndez also in the cast.
The Animals trailer shows Affleck and Washington as a couple forced to raise a ransom after their son disappears. The thriller reaches Netflix on October 9, 2026.
Garner was considered when Damon was the lead. Once Affleck took over, both actors decided the fictional marriage would be harder to separate from the one audiences already knew.
