Ben Affleck may re-team with The Accountant director Gavin O'Connor for the drama The Has-Been, currently being set up at Warner Bros. It should come as no surprise that Affleck and O'Connor would seek to work together again after The Accountant put up surprisingly solid box office numbers, grossing $86 million domestically. The two in fact are reportedly trying to put together a sequel to the 2016 film, which starred Affleck as a math savant involved in dangerous criminal activity.

Coming out several months after Affleck made his debut as the Caped Crusader in Batman V Superman, The Accountant seemed to solidify the actor's status as an action star with real box office clout. But that all evaporated with the disaster that was Live By Night, the big-budget period gangster film Affleck starred in, wrote and directed for Warner Bros. On the heels of that movie's failure, Affleck stepped down as director of The Batman, the planned standalone movie now to be helmed by Matt Reeves. In a further blow, Affleck's big DCEU event movie Justice League sorely underperformed at the box office (though given all that movie's problems, one can hardly lay the blame on Affleck).

Perhaps hoping to get back some of his mojo, Affleck is now looking at teaming up again with The Accountant director Gavin O'Connor. The two are reportedly talking to Warner Bros. about making The Has-Been, a drama from a hot script by Out of the Furnace writer Brad Inglesby (via Deadline). Warners reportedly wants to fast-track the movie once all the deals are signed.

The Accountant Ben Affleck

The Has-Been would be a true change-of-pace for Affleck, as it does not involve him playing a comic book character or even an action hero a la The Accountant. The story centers on a washed-up basketball star whose life has been ruined by addiction (an echo of Affleck's own recent struggles perhaps), who attempts to redeem himself by becoming a coach at an ethnically-mixed high school. It's been quite some time since Affleck tried tackling a down-to-earth character like this, and the movie could prove to be just the change-up he needs to shake off his recent flops.

Of course, this doesn't mean Affleck has no future playing Batman in the DCEU. It's just that no one seems to know exactly what the plans are for Justice League sequels and Affleck's Batman in general. In the meantime, the actor will take a detour to Netflix for the long-gestating drama Triple Frontier, directed by JC Chandor and co-starring Oscar Isaac. O'Connor of course still has his own connections to the DCEU, having been tapped to co-write and direct Suicide Squad 2. We will keep you updated on further developments regarding The Has-Been.

More: Every Suicide Squad 2 Update You Need to Know

Source: Deadline