Movies A new Ben Affleck–Matt Damon collab is coming: Here are all their projects together so far The "Good Will Hunting" buddies have worked together for over three decades. By Wesley Stenzel Updated on January 26, 2024 12:39PM EST Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are working together once more. The lifelong friends will collaborate on the crime thriller Animals for Netflix, with Affleck directing and Damon starring. The pair will co-produce the movie which will revolve around a mayoral candidate whose son is kidnapped, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Damon and Affleck have been close friends since their time together at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School outside of Boston. Though they’ve already worked together numerous times, it’s safe to assume that Affleck and Damon will collaborate even more in the future. While promoting last year’s Air, Affleck told Vanity Fair, "At some point we got convinced of this idea, like, 'Well, you don't wanna work together all the time, you'll become sort of associated with each other.' And that's negative," he explained. "But ultimately, it was sort of like, 'f--- that. I don't know, let's work together.' Cause that's the beautiful, that's the fun." "We can now look at the last 20 years and go like, 'Well the benefit of hindsight, what would we have done differently?'" Damon said in the same interview. "And I think we both came to the conclusion that we would've worked together a lot more." Here's EW's guide to every Ben Affleck/Matt Damon collaboration so far. 01 of 14 Animals (2024) Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images The duo’s newest project will see Affleck direct Damon for the second time, though there’s no word yet on whether he’ll act alongside him. Damon will play a political candidate who must save his son from kidnappers. Animals marks Damon’s first project for Netflix (Affleck previously starred in Triple Frontier and The Last Thing He Wanted). 02 of 14 Air (2023) Ben Affleck in 'Air'. Courtesy of Prime Video Affleck directed his buddy for the first time in last year’s corporate dramedy Air, which chronicles the development of Nike’s Air Jordan. Damon portrays protagonist Sonny Vaccaro, the talent scout who courted Michael Jordan to partner with the company for a specialty shoe, while Affleck portrays Nike founder Phil Knight. When discussing whether the film is actually the first time Affleck has directed Damon, the latter told EW, "First time that you're aware of." "I like to think I've been directing him my whole life," Affleck responded. "We did high school theater together," Damon said. "He's been in my ear for fortysomething years." 03 of 14 The Last Duel (2021) Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in 'The Last Duel'. 20th Century Studios Damon and Affleck cowrote their first screenplay together (alongside Nicole Holofcener) since Good Will Hunting for Ridley Scott’s medieval drama The Last Duel. In the film, Damon plays a pathetic knight, while Affleck portrays a rambunctious count. "I had fun every day on this movie," Affleck told EW. "I wasn't the star, I wasn't likable. I was a villain. I wasn't all the things I thought I was supposed to be when I started out, and yet it was a wonderful experience." 04 of 14 Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in 'Jay and Silent Bob Reboot'. Saban Films/Everett In their umpteenth collaboration with Kevin Smith, Damon and Affleck reprise their respective roles from previous projects in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Damon appears as Loki from Dogma (who has disguised himself as actor Matt Damon), and Affleck plays Holden McNeil, the protagonist from Chasing Amy. Smith told PeopleTV that he hadn’t spoken to Affleck in 10 years when he began working on the project, and he eventually worked up the courage to reach out. Affleck responded within five minutes, "Yes, of course I’ll come back and play." 05 of 14 Project Greenlight (2001-2015) Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in 'Project Greenlight'. Frank Masi/HBO Affleck and Damon hosted HBO/Bravo series Project Greenlight that saw the duo help young filmmakers craft feature-length projects. The series ran for three seasons between 2001 and 2005, then again for one more in 2015 before it was canceled (and it’s now back with Issa Rae). Damon told EW that they revived the project in the mid-2010s due to the proliferation of smartphone cameras. "Because of the advent of the iPhone and the fact that we’re carrying all these video cameras around now, understanding how to tell stories visually [is] beyond what it was 10 years ago," he said. "That’s one thing that gave us a greater group of people to choose from this time around." 06 of 14 Jersey Girl (2004) Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in 'Jersey Girl'. Miramax Kevin Smith’s dramedy Jersey Girl cast Affleck as a single dad recovering from the death of his wife (Jennifer Lopez). Damon plays an executive who interviews Affleck’s character for a job in one scene. Affleck explained his friend’s appearance in an interview with Larry King. "Matt and I are buddies, and Matt and Kevin know each other and work together. We called him and said, 'Would you come in and play this part?'" Affleck said. "It's one of those things that's funny for the audience too because they recognize Matt, but he's in this part where basically I'm coming to ask him for a job, and he thinks it's ridiculous, and he's not going to hire me. It's fun and nice." 07 of 14 The Third Wheel (2002) Ben Affleck in 'The Third Wheel'. Miramax/courtesy Everett Little-known rom-com The Third Wheel sees a man (Luke Wilson) work up the courage to ask out his coworker (Denise Richards), only to hit a homeless man (Jay Lacopo) with his car. Affleck plays a friend of Wilson’s character, while Damon has an uncredited cameo as Richards' character's vengeful ex-boyfriend. The duo also executive produced the project, which features small appearances from Lauren Graham, Jeff Garlin, and Melissa McCarthy. 08 of 14 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) Ben Affleck in 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'. Dimension/courtesy Everett Damon and Affleck engaged in playful self-parody in Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, wherein they play versions of themselves filming the nonexistent cash-grab sequel Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season. The scene only took about a day of shooting. Affleck explained the scene to Vanity Fair as "Our reaction to, what was, a very just personal small seeming intimate sort of movie [Good Will Hunting] that then became kind of something bigger. I remember feeling kind of wanting to react against it. And maybe not in a smart way." 09 of 14 Dogma (1999) Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in 'Dogma'. Lions Gate Films/courtesy Everett Kevin Smith’s religious satire Dogma sees Damon and Affleck play a pair of fallen angels who cause mischief on Earth. The film stars a wildly stacked cast of performers you wouldn’t expect to see in the same movie, including Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, George Carlin, and Alanis Morissette. "It was like a fun group of people to just be associated with," Affleck told Vanity Fair. "It felt special." 10 of 14 Good Will Hunting (1997) Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in 'Good Will Hunting'. Everett Collection The duo’s biggest collaboration, of course, is Good Will Hunting, the now-classic drama that won them the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, making them the youngest-ever winners in the category. Damon stars as the titular janitor-slash-math-wiz, while Affleck plays his aggressive yet supportive childhood friend. Affleck told EW that Kevin Smith helped save the project by vouching for his and Damon’s talents. "I promised him I would thank him if we ever got an Oscar and promptly forgot," Affleck said. "And then I told him, 'If I ever win again I swear to God I'm going to thank you.' Forgot again." 11 of 14 Chasing Amy (1997) Joey Lauren Adams and Ben Affleck in 'Chasing Amy'. Miramax Films / Courtesy Everett Collection After working with Kevin Smith in Mallrats, Affleck was cast as the lead of Chasing Amy, which proved to be a breakthrough performance that significantly boosted his career. Damon was cast in a cameo role as an executive. "I slept on Kevin's couch, and it was like, 'You got a buddy, this guy Matt, will he be in it?' And Matt was better known than I was," Affleck said to Vanity Fair. "[Smith] was totally happy to exploit Matt’s stardom, for his own benefit, and so was I," he joked. Damon remembers it differently: "In the ‘90s, when Ben was doing all these movies with Kevin, I’d just try and get in them any way I could," he told Movies After Midnight. 12 of 14 Glory Daze (1995) Ben Affleck in 'Glory Daze'. Fusion Studios Affleck’s first leading role came in the college comedy Glory Daze. He plays a UC Santa Cruz art student reeling from a recent breakup. Damon has a non-speaking role as one of the protagonist’s former roommates. The duo’s School Ties costar Brendan Fraser appears in a scene on a bus, while Affleck’s Dazed & Confused costar Matthew McConaughey plays a rental truck salesman. 13 of 14 School Ties (1992) The cast of 'School Ties'. Everett Collection Brendan Fraser led this prep school drama, which costarred Damon as one of the protagonist’s rivals. Affleck also appears in a smaller role, playing a bully who teams up with his roommate (Anthony Rapp) to harass Fraser’s character at school.I knew my nine lines back to front," Affleck said in an EW interview conducted by Damon. "I loved every day I was on a call sheet, every day I got to come to work. You were there, in Boston. It was one of the best experiences of my life. We literally were next to a dump and thought we were kings. I knew I was playing the one s---ty antisemitic bully character, so I figured it was probably not going to be great for me career-wise, but I loved it." 14 of 14 Field of Dreams (1989) The cast of 'Field of Dreams'. Everett Collection One of the duo’s first experiences on a major movie set came with Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner. Neither Affleck nor Damon is visible on screen, as they appeared as extras in a massive crowd during a scene where Costner and James Earl Jones’ characters go to a baseball game. "It was very hard to get any access to Fenway Park," Damon said of shooting on location where the Boston Red Sox play in a Vanity Fair interview. "So I remember feeling like, wow. We were really lucky to even be in the ball park." Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. 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