Ben Affleck’s latest film, Animals, arrives on Netflix today with a cast including Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun and Gillian Anderson.
Affleck directs, co-writes and stars in the political kidnapping thriller, which launches globally on 9 October 2026.
What begins as a ransom crisis quickly becomes something more uncomfortable as Mark and his wife Abigail are forced to reveal secrets that could destroy both their marriage and his political ambitions.
Ben Affleck directs and stars
Affleck plays Mark Kimball, a successful political figure running for mayor of Los Angeles.
Kerry Washington plays his wife Abigail, with the pair initially presented as a polished, successful couple whose family life appears as controlled as Mark’s campaign.
That image begins to collapse when their son disappears.
A mysterious demand forces them into a race to raise the ransom, while the pressure begins exposing things they have kept from each other.
Affleck has said the film is not only about kidnapping or politics.
Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun and Gillian Anderson join the cast
The supporting cast gives the film considerably more weight than a conventional streaming thriller.
Steven Yeun appears alongside Affleck and Washington, while Gillian Anderson plays Dayle, a fixer who becomes involved as the kidnapping crisis escalates.
Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Méndez also feature, with Christopher Woodley playing the Kimballs’ son Denny.
Netflix confirms that the film was shot in and around Los Angeles, with the city itself forming an important part of the political and social world surrounding the characters.
A political campaign under pressure
Mark’s mayoral campaign is not simply background scenery.
The kidnapping happens while he is trying to convince voters that he is the kind of person they can trust with public office.
That creates another layer of pressure.
Every decision he makes privately could affect his public image, while every secret revealed inside the family carries the potential to become politically destructive.
The result is a story built around the difference between who people appear to be and how they behave when there is no safe option left.
The trailer repeatedly returns to that idea, asking what remains when the carefully constructed version of somebody’s life begins to fall apart.
Affleck returns behind the camera
Animals also brings Affleck back into the director’s chair.
His previous directing work includes Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo and Air.
Argo went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, while Affleck has continued balancing acting, writing, producing and directing throughout his career.
The new film was produced in partnership with Artists Equity, the company founded by Affleck, Matt Damon and Gerry Cardinale.
Netflix says Affleck and Damon are both among the producers on the film, alongside Dani Bernfeld, Brad Weston and Collin Creighton.
Animals is streaming now
The film runs for approximately one hour and 48 minutes and is positioned as a dramatic thriller rather than an action spectacle.
That places most of the tension inside conversations, negotiations and decisions rather than relying entirely on conventional chase sequences.
At the centre of everything is a relatively simple question.
How much are Mark and Abigail prepared to sacrifice to protect their family, and what happens if protecting one part of their life destroys another?
Animals is available on Netflix from today, 9 October 2026.
For viewers looking for a tense weekend film with a high-profile cast, it gives Affleck another opportunity to combine political drama, crime and family pressure in the same story.
