Matt Damon And Ben Affleck Are Teaming Up To Co-Write A Film For The First Time Since ‘Good Will Hunting’

Though their careers have diverged in numerous ways since Good Will Hunting, actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck haven’t co-written a script — or, at least had a collaboration make it past pre-production — since the 1997 Oscar-winning movie. But that’s all about to change thanks to The Last Duel, the pair’s new effort with co-writer Nicole Holofcener (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and director Ridley Scott (The Martian).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Damon and Affleck are not only co-writing the book adaptation with Holofcener, but they’re also producing and starring in the film:

Ridley Scott is set to direct a reteaming Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in The Last Duel, a revenge thriller based on Eric Jager’s book about dueling warriors in 14th century France, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The project is based on Jager’s The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France, and recounts a real-life revenge drama whose script will be co-written by Nicole Holofcener, Damon and Affleck.

As much fun as it will be to see Damon and Affleck writing together once again, many critics and other commentators were expressing concern with the news — specifically, the plot’s dependence on the rape of a woman. Per the story recounted in Jager’s book, the titular duel takes place after a man rapes his friend’s wife while he’s off to war.

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Some were especially intrigued by Holofcener’s role as co-writer, and wondered how the film might turn out if she were directing it instead of Scott or writing it on her own.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)