According to Variety, two-time Oscar-winner Ben Affleck’s next directorial outing Live By Night has been officially greenlit by Warner Bros. Pictures, with the Prohibition-era organized crime tale set to go before cameras this November.
Having previously adapted Dennis Lehane’s Gone Baby Gone in 2007, Affleck originally intended to bring Lehane’s sprawling 2012 novel “Live By Night” (set in Boston, Florida and Cuba) to the screen shortly after his Best Picture win for Argo in 2013, but starring roles in Gone Girl and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice delayed things. As of now, the cast includes Elle Fanning, Sienna Miller and Zoe Saldana, with Affleck’s The Accountant co-star Jon Bernthal at one time rumored for a role as well.
Affleck is set to star as Joe Coughlin, the son of a Boston police captain who -starting in 1926- works his way up the ladder of an organized crime family, going from petty thief to the Gulf Coast’s most successful rum runner. You can purchase the novel here.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson Killoran and Jennifer Todd will produce the film alongside Affleck, who also adapted the screenplay. Warners had initially slated Live By Night for an October 7, 2016 release, though that may change.
