Ben Affleck is in line to play the lead in David Fincher's Gone Girl, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Gone Girl, based on the bestselling book by Gillian Flynn, tells the story of Nick – a failed journalist – and his wife, Amy, who goes missing on the day of the couple's fifth wedding anniversary. If confirmed, Affleck will play Nick, who becomes a suspect in the police investigation after it becomes clear their relationship was not as happy as it seemed. The book divides narrative between Nick's reaction to the disappearance and Amy's diary entries from the start of their relationship. Flynn has written the screenplay, but it's unclear whether the film will follow the same structure.

Affleck, whose last film as director, Argo, won best picture at this year's Oscars, will next appear in Runner, Runner, a crime thriller in which he plays a corrupt online-poker player who leads a naive Princeton student (Justin Timberlake) astray. Live By Night, the prohibition-era gangster story based on David Lehane's novel that Affleck will direct and star in, is currently in production.