Ben Affleck is returning to the director's seat for new film 'Live By Night' to work on another Dennis Lehane novel. The film, scheduled for a January 2017 release, set in prohibition era USA, follows Joe Coughlin (Affleck) -the son of a Boston police captain - as he turns into a notorious gangster.

Zoe Saldana and Ben Affleck in Live By NightZoe Saldana and Ben Affleck in Live By Night

Lehane and Affleck first worked together when Affleck adapted 'Gone Baby Gone' in 2007; the neo-noir thriller gained good reviews and after two credits in panned films this year in Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad, Affleck is in need of a reputation restoring film. The film is already being tipped for an Oscar nod and with Affleck winning Best Producer and Best Film in 2012 for Argo it's understandable why.

The book won the Edgar Award in 2013 and sees Zoe Saldana star alongside Affleck as Graciela Corrales; the New Jersey native starred in Nina, the biopic on Nina Simone, and has also been in sci-fi hits Star Trek and Guardians of the Galaxy -with Saldana reprising her role of Gamora in the sequel to the latter in 2017.

More: Deathstroke Will Face Off Against Batman In Ben Affleck's Solo Movie

The film is the second in the Coughlin trilogy and Lehane believes that the preceding 'The Given Day' and the final 'World Gone By' could easily be adapted to the silver screen. "I feel like there's potentially another narrative avenue for The Given Day - a TV series or miniseries" said Lehane in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Leonardo Dicaprio is also on board to produce the film after a quiet 2016. Live By Night will be only the second film DiCaprio has worked on since The Revenant; after working on climate change documentary 'Before The Flood' he reprises the role he worked during The Wolf of Wall Street and Out of the Furnace.

Of course Live By Night isn't the only film out for Affleck -with The Accountant coming out in October. The film sees Affleck play Christian Wolf, a mathematical genius with poor social skills, as he works for some of the most dangerous criminal organisations in the world. 

Watch the trailer For Live By Night: