Ben Affleck has not had the easiest time of late. Taking on the role of Batman for bothBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justicefollowed byJustice League, the actor has had to face personal demons, some of which he has recently opened up about. Having now stepped away from the Dark Knight, Affleck has several intriguing projects on the horizon, including a collaboration with Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and best friend Matt Damon entitledThe Last Duel. You might think that Affleck’s long career has left him immune to nerves, but apparently that is far from the case, especially when it comes to this particular upcoming movie.
“I am a little nervous. Because I have never done Medieval! It’s 1386, so it is like armor and swords and stuff like that. But it was a real pleasure working with Matt and Nicole Holofcener, who wrote the script with us. [Matt and I] kept saying, ‘Why have we not done this more often?’ We just got lucky that our schedules kind of intersected so that we had some free time to share. We got Ridley Scott directing it. And Jodie Comer’s in the movie, so that’s very exciting, and Adam [Driver].”
The Last Duelis a huge collaboration, and brings the actor in the medieval genre for the first time. Set in 14th century France, it tells thetrue story of two knights, Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris. After Jean de Carrouges accuses Jacques Le Gris of raping his wife, King Charles VI sanctions a duel between the two. Affleck will have a supporting role in the movie but is also deeply involved as one of the screenwriters, along withGood Will Huntingwriting partner Matt Damon.
The project finds Affleck once again pairing with palMatt Damon, which could be one of the reasons why he has a few pesky butterflies in his stomach, aside from the movie’s setting. Though the pair did team up for the HBO seriesProject Greenlightback in 2015,The Last Duelmarks the first cinematic collaboration between longtime friendsBen Affleckand Matt Damon since 2004’sJersey Girl. It is also the first time the pair have co-written anything since their Academy Award-winningGood Will Hunting, so expectations are bound to be sky-high, which could account, at least in part, for the actor’s nervousness.
Matt Damon has previously given us some insight into the writing process behindThe Last Duel, which also includesCan You Ever Forgive Me?writer Nicole Holofcener.
“It’s this really interesting story of perspective, so Ben and I wrote the male perspectives and Nicole wrote the female perspective. I’m looking forward to making it next year.”
Ridley Scott is scheduled to begin productiononThe Last Duellater this year with a release date slated for Christmas Day 2020. This comes to us fromETonline.
