Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's high-profile marriage captivated Hollywood before their 2015 separation eventually led to divorce. The former couple maintained an amicable co-parenting relationship centered on their three children while pursuing separate careers and personal lives.

Their friendship has remained visible throughout the years, with both actors continuing to speak warmly about each other, but their professional paths rarely crossed after their split.

Yet Affleck's latest Netflix thriller, Animals, nearly brought them together on screen.

Ben Affleck recently opened up to Entertainment Weekly about considering Jennifer Garner for Animals, explaining why the former couple ultimately decided against sharing the screen.

“I still would wanna work with her in the future, but what you don't wanna do is take the audience's baggage and have it work against you, you know?” Affleck said.

  The idea initially appealed to him after Matt Damon, who was originally attached to lead the film, departed because of his commitment to Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. Affleck stepped into Damon's role and reconsidered the casting around him. Garner immediately came to mind for the female lead.  

“I thought, ‘God, Jen Garner would be amazing for this role,’” Affleck recalled, believing the part could reveal another dimension of her dramatic abilities. Affleck and Garner discussed the possibility before reaching the same conclusion. According to Affleck, Garner recognized that their shared history could become an unavoidable distraction.

“We don't want to do that. You just get baggage,” she told him. Kerry Washington ultimately took the role of Abigail, the wife of Affleck's character, Mark Kimball. Their decision leaves the door open for another collaboration under different circumstances.

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While Animals moves forward with Washington at the center of its tense family crisis.

Ben Affleck's Animals arrives as a high-stakes kidnapping thriller exploring psychological manipulation and moral compromise within affluent circles. The plot centers on a wealthy couple whose lives unravel when their child becomes the target of an elaborate abduction scheme, forcing them to confront uncomfortable truths about their relationships and societal positions. 

The ensemble cast includes Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Luis Gerardo Méndez, and Adriana Paz in supporting roles that expand the narrative beyond the central couple's perspective. The trailer showcased Affleck's character receiving cryptic demands while Washington's character displays increasing desperation as negotiators impose impossible conditions for the child's safe return.

Animals receives limited theatrical releases in select cities before debuting on Netflix on October 9, 2026, continuing the streamer's strategy of hybrid distribution for prestige genre films. Early critical reactions praise the film's restrained approach to thriller conventions, favoring character development over explosive action sequences. 

Would you have liked to see Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner reunite on screen in Animals? Let us know in the comments.