Ben Affleck‘s still on Bat-duty for a little while, and presumably will be donning the cowl again sooner rather than later for "Justice League," but in between, he’s planning to get back behind the camera for his follow-up to his Oscar-winning sensation "Argo." The actor’s been brewing a loose adaptation of a tale by Dennis Lehane, who wrote the source material for his directorial debut "Gone Baby Gone," entitled "Live By Night," based on the author’s novel "The Given Day." And Affleck just landed his first cast members.
Deadline reveals that Zoe Saldana, Sienna Miller and Elle Fanning have all signed on to join the project. Set in Boston (quelle surprise!) in the Prohibition era, it centers on Joe Coughlin, the son of a police captain who gets involved in organized crime. The film will see Miller play Emma, an early love interest of the central character, Saldana as Graciella Suarez, a Florida woman he becomes involved in later on, and Fanning will be Loretta Figgis, an aspiring actress who ‘gets into trouble.’
Jennifer Lawrence and, surprisingly, Lindsay Lohan are among the other names mentioned in connection with the project so far, while there have been some rumors involving Adam Driver, Jon Bernthal and Chris Messina taking parts as well. It’s unclear if Affleck (or brother Casey) will appear in the film, but Coughlin certainly sounds like a meaty role.
As for the women just cast, this is all good news. Fanning’s one of the most talented actresses of any age, let alone one so young, it’s great to see Saldana doing something not set in space, and Miller is often underrated, but is finally getting the credit she deserves (she’s got a small part in Oscar contender "Foxcatcher" shortly). Look for the rest of the pieces of the puzzle to come together ahead of the film’s opening on October 7th, 2016.