Ben Affleck Defends Jennifer Lopez as He Reveals What He Still Hopes to Do With Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner at Peacock’s “The Five Star Weekend” premiere on July 8, 2026 in Los Angeles | Source: Getty Images
During a September interview with Entertainment Weekly, Affleck recalled believingGarner would be perfect for the role. The arrangement also offered a personal advantage.
Because Affleck and Garner share children, working on the same production could have helped them coordinate schedules and spend more time with their family. Professionally, he believed the role would allow Garner to reveal a side of her acting abilities audiences rarely saw.
Jennifer Garner poses with her children Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel Affleck at her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 20, 2018 | Source: Getty Images
Garner had recently returned as Elektra in 2024’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” reprising the character she originally played alongside Affleck in 2003’s “Daredevil.” Her last leading film role had been in 2023’s “Family Switch.”
Affleck was convinced she could bring something fresh to “Animals.” But just two weeks before cameras were set to roll, the production came to an abrupt halt.
Jennifer Garner attends an event inNew York City. | Source: Getty Images
A Rival Kidnapping Thriller Threatened to Derail the Entire Movie
Affleck discovered that Spike Lee and Denzel Washington were developing another film centered on a kidnapping. That project was “Highest 2 Lowest,” the 2025 Apple and A24 thriller starring Washington as a music mogul whose son is abducted by a character played by A$AP Rocky.
The similarities immediately concerned Affleck. Although “Animals” was based on an original screenplay, he feared audiences might view it as a competing version of Lee’s movie.
Spike Lee and Denzel Washington seen at Apple Original Films and A24’s “Highest 2 Lowest” Los Angeles Special Screening on August 13, 2025. | Source: Getty Images
