Why Ben Affleck & Matt Damon Never Wrote Another Movie Together After Good Will Hunting

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon would team up to write Ridley Scott’s historical 2021 drama «The Last Duel,» making it their second written project after «Good Will Hunting.» However, «The Last Duel» wasn’t exactly a duo effort, as they wrote the picture alongside Nicole Holofcener. Bringing Holofcener on board was a sound decision, as Damon and Affleck only wrote the male character-centered scenes in «The Last Duel.»  

While speaking with E! News to promote «The Last Duel,» Damon candidly admitted that he and Affleck underestimated how much effort and time it took to write a script together.  «If we just work during hours that we could easily carve out, we could get a lot done,» Damon said. «The Last Duel» emerged as another critical success for the duo and for Holofcener — it has an 85% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Since «The Last Duel,» both Affleck and Damon haven’t written anything. 

They did, however, reunite in 2023 for the Nike biopic «Air,» which Affleck directed. This was the first time Affleck directed Damon — a major moment for the duo. During a Q&A (via Collider) for the film, Damon discussed that it felt natural to be directed by Affleck, saying, «We’ve written a bunch of movies and produced and acted together for so many years and decades, so it didn’t feel any different, working this way.» The feeling was mutual for the filmmaker, as Affleck had nothing but praise for Damon’s performance in «Air.»