Ben Affleck is headed to Austin this July. Or should we say he’s headed back to Austin. The actor is no stranger to Austin, since one of his earliest acting jobs was 1993’s Dazed and Confused. According to the Austin Chronicle, the Oscar winner is coming back to the ATX to star in Austin based director Robert Rodriguez’s newest thriller Hypnotic.

Originally the film was set to be filmed in Los Angeles but production was halted due to COVID-19. Now the film is set to start production here in Austin on July 27 in Rodriguez’s East Troublemaker Studios.

The film, described as a modern Hitchcockian thriller, will be one of the first major projects to re-enter production since the pandemic. It will also be one of the first productions to implement the new Safe Way Forward production guidelines. Drafted by the Directors Guild of America, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Basic Crafts, and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, it sets standards and best practices for productions during the pandemic.

Robert Rodriguez at a red carpet event in Austin.

The studio plans to create a number of jobs and spend an estimated $24 million in the state, hopefully helping the Austin economy as it moves toward opening back up.

Featured image by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons.