Variety reports that Casey Affleck is set to star in Villain, a new thriller from a script that Affleck also wrote. Directed by Mikael Marcimain, the film will center on a mild-mannered man (Affleck) who receives clairvoyant powers after getting shot in the head by home invaders who murder his entire family. He then embarks on a quest for revenge against his crime-ridden city, potentially transforming into the title figure in his vengeance-seeking rage.
Affleck’s last screenwriting credit, the semi-improvised I’m Still Here, wasn’t so much written as woven, like a tapestry, from the scraggly hairs of Joaquin Phoenix’s beard, so it remains to be seen whether his talents lie in what sounds like a more traditional genre exercise. Last month, Affleck also expressed an interest in writing, directing, and starring in a film about a “post-pandemic” world, and he’s currently working on HBO’s upcoming miniseries Lewis And Clark.