Casey Affleck and Matt Damon dust off their Boston accents for the film, which premieres in Boston theaters on August 2 and Apple TV+ on August 9.
By Dana Barbuto/Boston Movie News

Matt Damon and Casey Affleck dust off their Boston accents and hit the gas in a high-speed “cah” chase in the first trailer, released June 13, for their made-in-Massachusetts heist comedy “The Instigators.”

The movie follows Rory (Damon) and Cobby (Affleck), a pair of mismatched thieves set to pull off a big score. Rory is a straight-laced Marine strapped with a mortgage and back child support, and Cobby is the wise guy ex-con. The trailer shows the two thrust into a chaotic pursuit through the city after their attempt to steal from Boston’s corrupt mayor (Ron Perlman) goes awry. “Everybody in New England is after us,” Rory says. Desperate to evade both law enforcement and criminal adversaries, they enlist the help of Rory’s therapist, played by Hong Chau, Damon’s co-star in “Downsizing.” The film also reunites Damon with director Doug Liman for the first time since 2002’s “The Bourne Identity.”

Casey Affleck, director Doug Liman, and Matt Damon on the Boston set of "The Instigators." (Photo from Apple TV+)
Casey Affleck, director Doug Liman, and Matt Damon on the Boston set of “The Instigators.” (Photo from Apple TV+)

Filming took place across various Boston and suburban locations, including Fenway Park, Larsen Skating Rink in Winthrop, Beacon Hill, Faneuil Hall, and Boston City Hall Plaza, where crews transformed the set with fake cop cars and snow. Notably, the historic Bova’s Bakery in the North End made a cameo appearance, with the shop temporarily closing its doors for a scene involving smashed bakery cases. Stunt drivers also staged a high-speed car chase scene along the Charles River Esplanade. Further south in Quincy, Malachy’s Saloon on Granite Street and the Squantum Yacht Club at Wollaston Beach set the scene for other key moments in the film.

Joining Damon and Affleck in the cast are Paul Walter Hauser (“I, Tonya”), Michael Stuhlbarg (“Call Me By Your Name”), Ving Rhames (“Mission: Impossible”), Alfred Molina (“Spider-Man”), and rapper Jack Harlow (“White Men Can’t Jump”). Former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski also appears in the new trailer, doing hypeman stuff on stage at an election night party.

Hong Chau, Casey Affleck, and Matt Damon in the shot-in-Boston "The Instigators." (Photo from Apple TV+)
Hong Chau, Casey Affleck, and Matt Damon in the shot-in-Boston “The Instigators.” (Photo from Apple TV+)

Affleck, already an Academy Award winner for his performance as a grief-stricken Quincy janitor in “Manchester by the Sea,” and Damon, a three-time Oscar nominee for his roles in “The Martian,” “Invictus,” and his winning screenplay for “Good Will Hunting,” add Boston street cred to the project. “The Instigators” marks yet another collaboration for the two actors, childhood friends from Cambridge who previously worked together on projects including “Chasing Amy,” “Good Will Hunting,” the “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise, and Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” and “Oppenheimer.”