Holy curious casting, Batman! It's been announced that Ben Affleck (JUSTICE LEAGUE, THE TOWN) will be joining Anne Hathaway (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES) as a member of the cast of Dee Ree's THE LAST THING HE WANTED. If you're scratching your head while in an attempt to recall Ree's name, she's the director and screenwriter of MUDBOUND, the Academy award-nominated film that told the story of two men who return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war. Ree's made a big splash with the 2017 wartime drama, which had gone on to win several awards at the Black Reel Awards ceremony in addition to other independant awards celebrations.
Upon boarding the new pic, Affleck and Hathaway will appear alongside Willem Dafoe (THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL), Toby Jones (THE PAINTED VEIL), Rosie Perez (WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP) and Edi Gathegi (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS) for Ree's newest feature-length effort, which centers on a journalist who quits her newspaper job and becomes an arms dealer for a covert government agency.
The story for THE LAST THING is based on the 1996 novel of the same name written by Joan Didion. In addition to penning the screenplay with Marco Villalobos, Rees will also produce by way of a partnership with Cassian Elwes. Jamin O’Brien, Wayne Godfrey, Robert Jones, Mark Lane and James Harris will executive produce the drama which is poised to arrive on Netflix.
How this will conflict with Affleck's will-he-or-won't-he Batman schedule has yet to be confirmed. Perhaps it will soon be announced that he's stepping away from the cape and cowl for good to pursue other projects, though I wouldn't hold your breath.
THE LAST THING HE WANTED is scheduled for a 2019 release.