Casey Affleck Replaces Matt Damon in Manchester-by-the-Sea Movie

Casey Affleck Photo via Helga Esteb / Shutterstock

Is this what happens when actors drop out of movies at the last minute? One actor can just give the part to another actor? Or maybe this only applies to Afflecks and Damons.

As of recently, Matt Damon bailed on his role in Kenneth Lonergan’s movie Manchester-by-the-Sea, and he’s handed his duties over to none other than Casey Affleck.

The gesture is less than shocking, but maybe Damon has some Jason Bourne business to attend to. Affleck, meanwhile, just wrapped up a local movie he shot with Chris Pine and Ben Foster out in Quincy called The Finest Hours. The Disney film is a dramatic telling of a Coast Guard rescue in Cape Cod. For his new role in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Affleck will take Damon’s part as a “ne’er-do-well plumber” from Boston, which sounds very un-Damon-like anyway.

Affleck himself broke the news to the Globe when they sat down with him in December, and he was awfully cheeky about Damon ditching the movie:

Ben Affleck’s kid brother told us he’ll be starring in director Ken Lonergan’s next movie, “Manchester-by-the-Sea.” Wait, we said, Matt Damon was supposed to be the lead, wasn’t he? “Yeah, but Matt can’t do it,” Affleck said. “And, you know, if Matt’s not in it, it’ll be good.” The actor then cracked a sleepy smile and played a little piano.

If Affleck is throwing shade at Damon’s appearance in Interstellar, which Affleck also starred in, or his not-so-thrilling Monuments Men, then yes, Manchester-by-the-Sea might be better off. But cheers to a bigger Bourne movie, right guys?