Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, 15 Years and Several Pounds Later, Back Together Again

Will Leitch
·Editor

So Ben Affleck, whom we're starting to think no one will remember was once an actor 20 years from now, is going to direct Matt Damon and Casey Affleck in a biography of Whitey Bulger, the infamous Boston mob kingpin. (Of course it's a Boston movie.) Bulger is the guy Jack Nicholson's character was based on in "The Departed," and he'll be played by Damon. Affleck, who's probably still mad he wasn't in "The Departed," will direct after he finishes "Argo."

Let us, for a moment, play the Let's Track Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's Careers By Selectively Pointing Out A Movie Each Of Them Made Every Year Since "Good Will Hunting" Came Out In 1997 game. (This is an actual game. You can buy it at toy stores.) It will be illustrative, we hope, to note how winding their careers have been, and how there's a certain symmetry to their reuniting. Let's play, shall we?

1997
Damon: "Good Will Hunting."
Affleck: "Good Will Hunting."
Ahead in career: Tied.

1998
Damon: "Saving Private Ryan."
Affleck: "Armageddon."
Ahead in career: Damon critically, Affleck in popularity.

1999
Damon: "The Talented Mr. Ripley."
Affleck: "Forces of Nature."
Ahead in career: Damon.

2000
Damon: "All the Pretty Horses.
Affleck: "Reindeer Games."
Ahead in career: Damon.

2001
Damon: "Ocean's 11."
Affleck: "Pearl Harbor."
Ahead in career: Damon.

2002
Damon: "The Bourne Identity."
Affleck: "The Sum of All Fears."
Ahead in career: Damon.

2003
Damon: "Stuck On You."
Affleck: "Gigli."
Ahead in career: Damon.

2004
Damon: "The Bourne Supremacy."
Affleck: "Surviving Christmas."
Ahead in career: Damon.

2005
Damon: "Syriana.
Affleck: No movies.
Ahead in career: Damon.

2006
Damon: "The Departed."
Affleck: "Man About Town." (direct to DVD)
Ahead in career: Damon.

2007
Damon: "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Affleck: No movies.
Ahead in career: Damon.

2008
Damon: "Che, Part Two."
Affleck: No movies.
Ahead in career: Tied.

2009
Damon: "The Informant."
Affleck: "He's Just Not That Into You."
Ahead in career: Damon.

2010
Damon: "Hereafter."
Affleck: "The Town."
Ahead in career: Affleck

2011
Damon: "The Adjustment Bureau."
Affleck: No movies.
Ahead in career: Affleck.

2012
Damon: No movies.
Affleck: "Untitled Terrence Malick Project."
Ahead in career: Affleck.

In other words ... don't throw the guy a bone now, Ben! You're finally winning!

Ben Affleck To Direct Matt Damon And Casey Affleck in Whitey Bulger Mobster Saga [Deadline]