Ben Affleck Heads to the Bottom of a Fifth in ‘The Way Back’ Debut Trailer

Ben Affleck's had a rough couple of years since winning his second Oscar for Argo in early 2013. The internet exploded over the news that he would be the new Batman, before that endeavor crashed and burned in disaster, leading Affleck to go back to the bottle, dissolve his marriage to Jennifer Garner, and enter rehab facilities. Now Affleck's back, under the direction of Gavin O'Connor—with whom he made 2016's The Accountant—for The Way Back, stepping into familiar shoes as a man battling demons at the bottom of a bottle.

Affleck plays a former all-star high school basketball player who has spent the last few years watching everything around him crumble due to addiction. He is given a shot at redemption, however, when asked to return to his alma mater and coach the basketball team that hasn't had a winning season since he graduated. It's the sort of comeback film that Affleck has attempted before, but he's never really gone this deep on a character so close to himself, you know, minus all the basketballing.

It'll be interesting to see how this turns out because lord knows the world doesn't need another movie about a basketball coach helping a bunch of troubled teens learn how to be a family. We've all seen that movie a dozen times over by now, so hopefully this has got some ingredient missing from past films in the genre. The Way Back opens on March 6, 2020.