Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas are in negotiations to star in the erotic thriller, Deep Water. Adrian Lyne, who hasn’t directed a movie since 2002’s Unfaithful, will helm the project, which is based on a Patricia Highsmith novel. Zack Helm (Stranger Than Fiction) and Sam Levinson (Euphoria) have written the screenplay.
Affleck and de Armas will play Victor and Melinda Van Allen, a couple stuck in a loveless marriage who spice things up by allowing each other to take other lovers. Things get messy, and their mind games with each other take a twisted turn when people around them start turning up dead.
In the 80s and 90s, the erotic thriller was a popular genre, and Lyne was arguably the king. He directed films such as Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal which made box office killings on the promise of combining movie stars, thrills, and sex. The genre has been long dead in mainstream cinema for a variety of reasons. But seeing it come back in the form of Deep Water with Lyne himself at the helm is exciting.
Lyne has been developing the project since 2013. Affleck’s interest has helped get the greenlight from New Regency, who are producing. It’s expected to fall under their output deal with Fox/Disney.
We all know who Affleck is, but de Armas is a rising star. She’s appeared in Blade Runner 2049, and has since been cast to play Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. She will also appear in Bond 25 and Rian Johnson‘s murder mystery, Knives Out. She’s poised to become a huge star. By the time Deep Water arrives, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she was a bigger name than Affleck.
Hopefully Deep Water can introduce a new audience to the erotic thriller. Production will start in November.
#Peace.Love.DeepWater
