Be warned, as major spoilers for Animals lie ahead.
Animals is the latest directorial effort from Ben Affleck, and it’s also one of the newest titles to hit the 2026 movie schedule. The film, in which Affleck also plays one of the lead roles, revolves around a mayoral candidate and his wife, whose relationship unravels as they deal with their son’s apparent kidnapping. Yet the paradigm shifts for them and those in their orbit when a new revelation comes to light. CinemaBlend spoke to Affleck about his new flick, and he not only broke down the ending but shared some details on the main villain.
California-based politician Mark Kimball and his wife, Abigail (Kerry Washington) are distraught when someone calls and claims they’ve kidnapped their son, Denny (Christopher Woodley) and wants $7 million for his safe return. They are relieved, however, when Denny returns home on his own after trick-or-treating. However, it’s revealed that the true kidnapee is the child Denny was with, Hector (Jacob Estrada) – who’s the son of Ramon (Luis Gerardo Méndez), the man Kimball family maid, Cecilia Trujillo (Adriana Paz) is dating.
The Kimballs eventually decide to save Hector regardless, with the help of enigmatic deal broker Dayle Burton (Gillian Anderson). The Kimballs later, however, take Dayle up on her offer to have the kidnapper killed during the cash exchange. Ultimately, the situation ends with Hector being saved, and the kidnappers – along with Gayle and her assistant, Rand – being killed. When CB spoke to Affleck, he didn’t divulge the exact identity of the lead antagonist, but he shared some details on the character’s backstory and link to Mark:
I mean, if you look at the inserts early on, you’ll see that the guy’s shop has been closed, that it’s a function of this environmental legislation. And he’s a kind of an unintended casualty of some crusade that he took out on his father’s firm. [Mark] doesn’t know who the guy is. He doesn’t even imagine that or hasn’t even thought about….
Affleck is indeed right that there are clues that seem to allude to the identity of the main kidnapper, and a solid theory is that the character – played by Matt Gerald – could be James Bureaux. Viewers may recall that Bureaux is the man who Mark researches at the beginning of the movie. That would track, given what the director/leading man says about the man who kidnaps Hector:
It’s something about unintended consequences in this guy’s life’s [that’s] been impacted and he’s lost, you know, his business and his family, and he decides he’s angry. He takes it out on [Mark].
During the 2026 Netflix movie, Mark attempts to appeal to the Los Angeles community, as he attempts to become mayor. It’s also a big gamble for the Spanish-speaking politician, as he seeks pretty much all of his assets into his campaign. Given Mark’s position and status as a wealthy man, it would make sense that the man (who may or may not be Bureaux) would target him. At the end of the day, though, Affleck seems to be concerned with much more than just audiences knowing the criminal’s identity:
To me what’s important is just really more about… the point of having things in life, our children, our families, whatever our reputations, the things we accrue and the feeling of when those things are threatened. And I think it’s sometimes when you go like, there’s a reason why this person wanted to do that, it’s a comfort, which is like, ‘Oh, okay, well, that’s not going to happen to me…’ I didn’t really want to get into that. I wanted to touch on the feeling that people have, I think, all the time of the world can be hostile and scary, and I might lose things.
It seems like Affleck put a lot of thought into this narrative, and that tracks, given how passionate he’s been when speaking about his work on the film. At one point, it looked like Animals wouldn’t even happen, but Affleck revived it. However, by that point, the original leading man, Matt Damon, had to step away to film The Odyssey, and Jennifer Garner dropped out as well. What Affleck ultimately crafts is a classic thriller filled with political and social undertones.
As for the villain, I’d be surprised if Ben Affleck ever overtly revealed their identity but, then again, that’s just more reason for viewers to check out the movie and make their own assumptions. So, on that note, grab a Netflix subscription and stream Animals now.