At tonight’s Tudum event, Netflix unveiled the premiere date for its upcoming crime thriller The Rip, starring longtime pals Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Co-starring Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun, and Sasha Calle, the film is set to hit the streamer on January 16, 2026. While the sneak peek was kept exclusive to the room and viewers at home.
Written and directed by Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces), The Rip centers on a team of Miami cops whose trust is pushed to the edge after discovering millions of dollars stashed in a derelict house. As word of the massive seizure spreads, everything comes into question — who they are, who they can trust, and what they’re willing to risk.
The lineup also includes Catalina Sandino Moreno, Néstor Carbonell, Lina Esco, Scott Adkins, and Kyle Chandler. Carnahan praised the creative freedom he was given, sharing with Tudum, “Working with Matt and Ben and having two, distinctly talented filmmakers as both creative allies and studio heads wound up being the best of both worlds.”
The Rip is produced by Artists Equity, the artist-led studio Damon and Affleck launched in 2022. Since its inception, the company has rolled out several buzzy projects, including Air and the documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told for Amazon MGM Studios, plus the festival hit Small Things Like These starring Emily Watson.
The film’s gritty plot was inspired by a real-life story from one of Carnahan’s friends, a former head of tactical narcotics for the Miami-Dade Police Department. “The title ‘The Rip’ comes straight from Miami cop slang for taking the bad guy’s stash,” Carnahan said. “It’s about that moment of moral ambiguity — are you in it for the job, or the money?”
Damon and Affleck’s decades-long friendship — from Cambridge kids to Hollywood heavyweights — has seen them share the screen and script countless times, but The Rip promises a fresh kind of collaboration. Think of it as their own ode to classic ‘70s cop thrillers like Serpico and Prince of the City, with a modern edge.
Stay tuned for more updates on The Rip and the dynamic duo’s latest cinematic chapter.