Ben Affleck is returning to directing, writing and starring with Netflix thriller Animals, which will premiere on October 9.

The newly released trailer offers the first extended look at the tense kidnapping drama and its international cast, including Mexican stars Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Méndez, alongside Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Ray Fisher and Steven Yeun.

Ben Affleck takes on three roles

Animals marks Affleck’s seventh feature film as a director and brings him back to the combination of acting, directing and writing.

The story follows Mark Kimball, played by Affleck, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose carefully controlled life is thrown into crisis when his son is kidnapped.

As Mark and his wife desperately try to bring their child home, the situation begins exposing secrets and forcing the family into increasingly difficult decisions.

The film explores what happens when personal desperation collides with public responsibility — particularly for a man attempting to convince voters that he is capable of delivering justice while facing an impossible moral crisis of his own.

A kidnapping threatens everything

The trailer establishes Mark as a politician attempting to maintain control of his mayoral campaign while searching for the people responsible for his son’s disappearance.

His public image becomes increasingly difficult to separate from the private emergency unfolding around him.

Mark speaks about how moments of crisis reveal who people truly are and force them to decide what matters most.

That idea appears to sit at the centre of Animals: what happens when following the law and protecting the people you love no longer feel like the same thing?

As the search intensifies, secrets begin emerging and the consequences for the family become increasingly serious.

Kerry Washington plays Affleck’s wife

Kerry Washington stars opposite Affleck as Mark’s wife, placing the couple at the emotional centre of the kidnapping story.

The trailer suggests their characters will be forced to navigate both the terror of losing their child and the growing complications surrounding Mark’s political career.

Meanwhile, Gillian Anderson plays one of the investigators working on the case.

The combination gives the thriller a cast drawn from several corners of film and television, with the investigation unfolding alongside the family drama and political pressure surrounding Affleck’s character.

Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Méndez join the cast

Mexican stars Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Méndez are also prominently featured in the new trailer.

Their exact characters and storylines remain under wraps, but both appear throughout the footage, adding further mystery to the film’s ensemble.

Paz has built an international career across Mexican and global cinema, while Méndez has become one of Mexico’s most recognisable actors through film and television.

Their involvement gives Animals an additional international dimension alongside its Hollywood cast.

Steven Yeun and Ray Fisher round out the ensemble

The supporting cast also includes Steven Yeun, Ray Fisher, Christopher Woodley, Matt Gerald and Jacob Estrada.

Netflix has so far kept many details surrounding their characters secret, allowing the trailer to focus primarily on the kidnapping, Mark’s political position and the increasingly dangerous decisions facing his family.

That secrecy appears deliberate, with much of the thriller built around questions of who can be trusted and what information remains hidden.

Affleck returns to directing

The film represents another major directing project for Affleck following Air, his 2023 drama about the creation of Nike’s landmark partnership with Michael Jordan.

This time, he moves away from business history and into a darker, more personal thriller built around family, justice and political power.

By placing himself at the centre of the story while also working behind the camera, Affleck is taking on one of his most involved filmmaking projects in recent years.

‘Animals’ arrives on Netflix in October

With its combination of kidnapping drama, political tension and a strong international ensemble, Animals is shaping up as one of Netflix’s major autumn film releases.

The trailer leaves many of its biggest questions unanswered — including the precise roles played by Paz and Méndez and how far Affleck’s character will ultimately go to save his son.

Animals premieres globally on Netflix on October 9.