Ben Affleck casts himself in his upcoming political thriller Argo, will be joined by Alan Arkin and John Goodman

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Back in February, actor-director Ben Affleck was in negotiations to helm a film called ARGO, an adaptation of a 2007 Wired article written by Joshuah Bearman called How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran. In the months since, Affleck’s locked himself in to direct the political thriller, and he’s brought on a formidable trio composed of Alan Arkin, John Goodman, and himself!

The story – from a 2010 Blacklist script penned by Chris Terrio (HEIGHTS) – centers on how, “during the occupation of the American embassy by Iranians in 1979, a rescue effort was mounted by the CIA and the Canadian government to extract six U.S. diplomats. The CIA used a disguise expert and concocted a scenario that involved the six being a Hollywood crew scouting a movie titled Argo. Under those disguises, they were able to flee the country.” Variety says that Affleck is set to play the lead role of Tony Mendez, the man responsible for creating the fake Hollywood production that allowed the diplomats to escape. Arkin and Goodman are both in final negotiations to play Hollywood producer Lester Siegel and Oscar-winning makeup artist John Chambers respectively.

ARGO will be Affleck’s follow-up to last year’s critical and mainstream success THE TOWN, though there’s no word yet on when production is expected to start. Affleck just recently wrapped filming on Terrence Malick’s next untitled project.