Hollywood's most enduring bromance is back on screen. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the Oscar-winning duo whose partnership began as teenagers in Boston, have reunited for the slick new Netflix crime thriller 'The Rip', which began streaming exclusively on the platform from 16 January 2026.
From Script to Screen at Breakneck Speed
The film's journey to release has been remarkably swift, a hallmark of the pair's production company, Artists Equity, which they founded in 2022. Director Joe Carnahan managed to secure both stars and their company for the project within a mere 48 hours, despite the script not existing two years prior.
"It almost never happens like that!" Carnahan exclaimed, describing the 'crazy' pace. For Affleck and Damon, however, this agility is a point of pride. "Oftentimes these things languish, Hollywood tends to move at a glacial pace and being a smaller company, we can move really quickly," Damon told Metro. "We're the bosses now, so we can just kind of push the button and go!"
This echoes their experience on 'Air', which they produced for Amazon. "We finished the movie before the deal was papered... They were kind of shocked by that – but that's how we like to move," Damon revealed.
A Friendship Forged in Fire: Navigating Hollywood Together
The conversation naturally turned to their 40-plus-year friendship and its seamless translation to professional success, from winning an Oscar for 'Good Will Hunting' in 1998 to their latest venture. Damon recalled their famous shared bank account from their early days auditioning in New York. "We were desperate for one of us to get [a part] because somebody had to pay the bills!" he quipped.
Affleck was quick to highlight the joy of working with a trusted friend. "It's a hell of a lot easier to work with somebody you love and trust and respect and who's terrific than it is to work with people you don't like!" he said.
Addressing the potential pitfalls of mixing business and friendship, Damon offered a clear rationale for their success. "Why it's not [complicated] is because we both love this job separate and independent of one another and we both understand that you can't ask a friend to change the rules of the universe to conform to your friendship."
'The Rip': A Test of Trust and Survival
In the film, the pair play Miami cops—Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) and Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne (Affleck)—who are part of a team that discovers a stash of $20 million (£14.8m) in a safehouse. The night becomes a tense battle for survival as suspicion mounts within the group.
Choosing their roles was a collaborative, director-led process. "We're pretty agnostic. Especially in a case like this, where both roles were excellent," said Damon, comparing it to their experience on 'The Departed' with Martin Scorsese.
The supporting cast includes Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun, Sasha Calle, and Kyle Chandler. For Carnahan, who previously worked with Affleck on 'Smokin' Aces', this is the biggest film of his career. "You're seeing two guys that people love and want to see on screen... And I'm so chuffed and thrilled that it came out the way it did," he said.
The Artists Equity Philosophy: A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships
The ethos of their company centres on collaboration and respect for every contributor. Affleck emphasised the importance of surrounding oneself with talented people. "From my own experience, the better the other actors are, the better I'm going to be, the better the movie's going to be," he insisted, rejecting a zero-sum mindset.
Damon recalled a conversation with Clint Eastwood about legendary director Gus Van Sant's belief that "directing was 95% casting." Eastwood's reply? "And crew." "It really is about the people that you're collaborating with," Damon concluded.
Affleck summed up their collective spirit perfectly: "A rising tide really does lift all ships here." With 'The Rip' now streaming, audiences can see the latest product of a partnership that continues to defy Hollywood norms.
