When I think about Matt Damon and Casey Affleck at the same time, the fact that pops into my head is that they were both in the legendary Ocean’s Eleven cast. While they’ve both had long and illustrious careers, I think it’s safe to say that one of Affleck and Damon’s best movies is the OG heist film from 2001. Now, the two actors are sharing the screen again in a new heist flick called The Instigators. So, obviously, this question had to be asked: Would these two new characters be hired by Danny Ocean?
Luckily, Matt Damon had an answer to this question, and it was as entertaining and witty as the best lines in the Ocean’s movies. While promoting his new heist project before its premiere on the 2024 movie schedule, the Oscar-winner told EW:
I think that’s a pretty good description of it, actually. We didn’t really talk about Ocean’s [on set] that much just because, to your point, those movies are about the exact perfect team, everyone with their specialty, and it all comes off beautifully in the end. And these guys are the opposite.
I couldn’t agree more. In Ocean’s Eleven, George Clooney’s Danny Ocean assembles an elite team of experienced thieves and career criminals. In the film, Damon plays a pickpocket named Linus, while Casey Affleck plays Virgil, a skilled getaway driver and robotics expert who loves to bicker with his brother Turk.
In The Instigators, as the trailer illustrates, Damon and Affleck play desperate dad Rory and ex-con Cobby, respectively. The two set out to steal money from the mayor, and it’s obvious that these guys are not experienced in the art of the heist.
Doug Liman’s movie looks a lot more chaotic and action-packed than Steven Soderbergh’s cool and smooth film from the early 2000s. Basically, what I’m saying is, The Instigators wouldn’t really stand a chance at executing the heists Danny and co. pull off in the Ocean’s movies. Matt Damon agreed, as he quipped:
There’s no world in which Danny Ocean would let these two knuckleheads into his crew. And that’s kind of the fun of it — it’s two more regular people in the middle of a heist.
He’s right, I don’t think Clooney’s Danny Ocean and Brad Pitt’s Rusty Ryan would entertain the idea of hiring these two “knuckleheads.” However, that’s kind of the fun of The Instigators.
Rather than a well-planned heist, like Ocean’s Eleven, this movie is about two guys who would never have thought they’d be doing something like stealing from a mayor, and I’m here for the chaos that comes with it.
As a massive fan of the Ocean’s movies, I always love a new heist project. So, I’m super intrigued by how The Instigators seems to take the concept and flip it on its head by putting two everyday guys in the middle of it.
To see what happens when Matt Damon and Casey Affleck team up this time around, you can stream The Instigators starting August 9 with an Apple TV+ subscription. To go back and watch them in Ocean’s Eleven, you can rent or buy the film on Amazon.